Last Enchantment
by Shamera
Summary: AU A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. DH.
1. Once Upon A Time

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
_ Once upon a time long ago, there lived those called the Sidhe faeries. The faeries were known for their close connection to the earth, for being able to summon nature to help them in dire times. Most faeries had no wings- and they weren't the size of your palm. In fact, most faeries didn't look anything like muggle stories, for they were only slightly smaller than humans and did not even have the pointed ears. Faeries were known by the sun-kissed skin, their small stature, and their affinity to all living things. _

There were two races of Sidhe faeries: the Seelie, and the Unseelie. Seelie faeries were intensely loyal to their king and queen, and loved the untamed wonders of natures. Unseelie faeries were loyal to their royal family, yes, but they believed that nature could be cultivated. At first the two races had lived together peacefully, but then disagreements began to arise, and the Unseelie royalty grew bitter seeing how loved the Seelie were. 

The Unseelie prince killed the Seelie Crown Prince in a fit of rage one day, and from that time on was banished from the kingdom. When the Unseelie king and queen heard of this, the grew outraged- how dare the Seelie banish their son? What gave them that right? 

They staged an attempt to overthrow the Seelie royalty, but was found out at the last minute. They were then banished as well, and all Unseelie faeries followed their king and queen to a land where there was no light, where they grew more bitter and angry by the year. But the royal family of the Unseelie soon died when they could not adapt to the land of no light. The throne of the Unseelie was taken by a distant relative, who ceased all attacks on the Seelie so that they could learn to survive in such a different land first. 

It was thousands of years later that the last king and queen of the Seelie faeries had been cursed. The curse that fell upon them made the queen barren, ensuring that she could not have children. Sidhe faeries were well known for large families, as they drew pride in their offspring. The curse could only have been issued by the royal family of the Unseelie faeries- the enemies of the Seelie, who had been banned from the light. The Unseelie family denied it vehemently, stating that the Seelie had not proof. 

Both sides had been on edge for many years already, both ready to fight each other. The royal family of the Unseelie had thin blood, for their direct royal line had died out long ago. It was no secret that they hated the Seelie especially for having royal blood still, and they wished to make their enemies as weak as they were themselves. 

It almost took a war between the two faeries races before the Seelie king relented, despairing over ever having an heir with his queen. The people of the kingdom were heartbroken, as they loved their king and queen dearly, and knew that this curse would mean the end of the lineage of Seelie royalty, as the king had no brothers and sisters, his own parents having died too young. Distant relations could not control the mighty throne of the Seelie faeries, as their blood was not strong enough to bear the burden of the throne. 

The kingdom had been in mourning for nearly a year before they realized- their queen was pregnant! She had been pregnant before the curse had been cast on her, so that this child had come into being. A faerie's gestation period being nearly 24 months, she had not realized that she was pregnant until the middle of her pregnancy. She was ecstatic and happily informed her husband, whom cried tears of happiness and promised then and there that his child would never want for anything. 

When the faerie prince was finally born, all of the Seelie kingdom came to give him blessings, all of them falling in love with the smiling, gurgling babe and taking it upon themselves to assure that no harm would ever befall their prince. They gave him many gifts, and showered him with offerings. Each faerie took it upon his or herself to offer the king and queen their time, learning, and skill to teach to the young babe- so that the child would not only grow up to be a great leader, but have a respect for his people- those who will teach him everything he knows. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Harry rushed into the classroom frantically, wondering if he had been late due to the Slytherins tripping him in the hallway and making him drop all his books. It hadn't helped that he couldn't find his glasses that morning, only to realize that he had left it with Neville (who had already gone off to breakfast) the day before during their study sessions for Potions. It was only the first class in the morning, but Harry already felt miserable enough to last a week. 

Breathing a relieved sigh when he realized that the Professor wasn't there yet, Harry slid himself into a seat next to Hermione, seeing that the seat next to Ron was already taken by Seamus. Hermione sent a worried look his way when he kneaded his temples harshly. 

"You weren't at breakfast this morning." She said to him quietly, nudging him under the table with a muffin. "You really shouldn't be missing meals, Harry. Especially breakfast." 

Harry took the muffin graciously under the table. "Thanks. But I was looking for something this morning." 

"Yes, your glasses." Hermione seemed amused. "Neville remembered it at breakfast, so he gave it to me." She leaned over to go through her schoolbag, pulling out a pair of round, black framed glasses. "You should have just asked about it." 

Harry looked slightly abashed, but took the glasses anyway, giving her a polite thanks. He barely had time to put them on before their Defense Against Dark Arts teacher came in, flustered and nearly bouncing with anticipation. 

"Sorry about the delay, class!" The professor was saying excitedly, but I was just escorting a guest speaker for today's lesson." He waved towards the door, where there was a figure shrouded in white. "We're studying the Faerie race today! Particularly, the Sidhe faeries- the Seelie!" 

"A guest speaker for faeries?" Harry turned towards Hermione, quite curious. 

The girl in question shrugged. "I heard they all died off about a hundred years ago. I don't know why we have a guest speaker for a subject like this…" 

The guest speaker in question made its way up to where the Professor was standing quite gracefully, her face still cloaked in white. The long thing that could be seen was long, dirty blonde flowing from under the hood. The settled herself quite comfortably in a seat in front of the room with the help of the professor, and pulled back her hood with elegant hands. 

A gasp when over the room when they saw her pointed ears and amused expression. 

"She's an elf!" 

The seventh year Gryffindor and Slytherin DADA class had been studying elves and faeries for the last few weeks already, but had never thought that they would get an actual representative to talk to them. They had been going over the ways of defending themselves against Unseelie faerie magics and how some elven magics would apply to them. 

The elf in particular looked rather… well, dreamy was a way of saying it. She looked quite dazed, as if she was half daydreaming. Harry wasn't sure what to make of her, with the pale skin and blonde hair. She looked rather like any other human being he had seen with the exception of her ears and the way she was dressed. Weren't elves supposed to glow with their luminescent skin? Be beautiful and wise with an affinity with the trees? 

She was beautiful… rather plain, actually. And she didn't look wise at all- she looked like a teenager about to fall asleep in class! 

Harry sneaked a look to the right of him where the new transfer student was sitting. _He_ looked like what Harry imaged elves would be. Grey eyes that were tinged with blue, white-blonde hair that was slicked back so not to fall in his face and obscure his vision. Pale, pale skin and a posture that spoke of aristocracy and elegance. 

A hard yank on his robes brought Harry's focus to the front of class again, and he didn't catch the curious gaze of the boy whom he had been examining earlier. Hermione was glaring at him, telling him not so subtly to pay attention. Their guest speaker was talking to them. 

"Hello, friends." She had a faint smile on her lips. When she smiled, it certain made her look a lot more mythical than she had before, but Harry still had the nagging feeling that she looked mythical like a fortune teller would look mythical… instead of a magical creature. 

"Our speak today is Princess Luna Lovegood, a representative from a land that is very close to where the Seelie faeries once resided!" the professor was practically beaming with delight. "And since for the last week, we've been going over the Unseelie and how to defend against their magic, I thought the all of you would be glad to hear the story about the Seelie faeries." 

Harry wasn't much surprised when Hermione's hand went up in the air. 

"Yes, Miss Granger?" 

"But haven't all the Seelie faeries died out already, professor? You told us that they died when the last Prince of the Seelie died." 

The professor looked slightly flustered. "Well, yes, but-" 

"The Seelie faeries are not dead, of that I can assure you." 

The elven princess had a bemused look. "The history books have gotten it all wrong." 

There was a quick moment where Harry heard Ron's quiet snort to know that the books had gotten something like that wrong, and Hermione's answering twitch of tension. He almost missed when the elf's eyes flicker over to the boy on the right of him, softening her expression just a bit and giving a faint nod. 

Harry stole a glance at the new boy suspiciously. 

"The Seelie faeries are not dead as history would have informed you. They are merely waiting, all of them deep in sleep due to grieving and a promise made long ago." 

"Waiting?" Hermione asked. "Waiting for what?" 

Luna cast a speculative look, as if trying to remember something deep in her thoughts. "Waiting for the rebirth of their prince, of course. They made a promise to the last King of Queen of the Sidhe that each faerie warrior would fight and die for their prince. The last prince of the Seelie- I'm sure that a inquisitive girl like you would have already known about that." 

The Gryffindor girl straightened up a little at the compliment, now even more curious. 

Lavender raised her hand from behind their table. "But wasn't the last Seelie prince killed by the Unseelie? They cursed him to die before he could be old enough for his coronation, didn't they?" 

"No doubt she read that in a romance novel." Hermione muttered under her breath. Harry only snorted in agreement. The tale of the last Sidhe prince had been romanticized that even the boys in Hogwarts had heard several versions of stories that the girls have read- of heroines who found the magical kingdom and fell in love with the prince before he died. It was romantic, yes, but to a point where it was also sickening. 

"They cursed him to die before his coronation, yes." The elvish princess was saying. "And yes, the last prince of the Seelie did die. Nearly a hundred years ago, I'd say. Very, very sad. Had to be one of the most tragic romances I know." 

"So he _was_ in love!" Lavender proclaimed, sounding quite satisfied with herself. "Was it a human girl like they said in most of the tales?" 

"Oh, goodness, no!" The princess almost sounded horrified. "Is that what they write in those rubbish nowadays? I can't believe I used to read things like that…" 

Harry rested his head in the palm of his hand, leaning slightly to one side and waiting for the conversation to drone on. Gah. He hadn't thought that they would be talking about such girlish topics. Weren't faeries supposed to be interesting due to the strong earth magic and connection to nature they had? The thing that had stuck to Harry's mind the most over the last week was how faeries were supposed to be able to control nature to an extent. 

Now wouldn't that be great to use against Voldemort? 

Harry envisioned a stick-figure thought of the Dark Lord trapped by trees and earth, cursing and growling as he was attacked by all sides by leaves and moss... and maybe pink flowers. His stick-figure Voldemort raised a stick-figure fist to shake at him. 

Harry chuckled. 

"The faerie prince fell in love with a vampire." 

There was an immediate cacophony of hushed whispers that broke Harry out of his daydreaming. Luna didn't even seem to notice the reaction that she had provoked. Instead, she got a dreamy smile on her face as she clapped her hands together, clearly enthused about something. 

"Yes, yes… I remember the story completely. The Seelie Prince had fallen in love with a vampire before his parents had died. That was before the war between the Seelie and Unseelie faeries had reached its apex. The Royal family had been quite distraught at first- not to blame them, of course. I mean- vampire blood in the pureblooded fey line? It was unthinkable! But of course, the fey race loved their prince too much to deny him anything." 

"A vampire, then…" came the hushed tones of the girls who say behind Harry. Even the boys were talking now, as they hadn't heard that before. "She must have been extremely beautiful, to catch the eye of a faerie prince…" 

The elvish princess's smile faltered. "_He._ He was extremely charming, yes. Of course, vampires are known to be charming, but he was much more wonderful and doting than could have been expected." 

There was a sudden silence as the information was digested. 

"It's not any less romantic!" Luna protested, seeing the disbelief on the students' faces. "In fact, I've met with him quite a few times." 

"Oh, have you?" Parvati exclaimed excitedly, as she seemed to be the first to recover, voice brimming with curiosity. "How do you know that he was the one, though? Couldn't he have just been lying to you?" 

The elf looked quite smug. "He wasn't lying to me because I've actually seen the two of them together. I have visited the faerie land before, with it was still thriving." 

With that comment, the dam was loose with an entourage of questions. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Well… that was interesting." 

It was just after class and right before lunch. Double Defense Against Dark Arts had sounded interesting to Harry at first, but now he was really dreading that class. He and Ron were lounging outside nearby the lake, trying to shake off all the girly 'oooh's and 'ahhh's and giggling during the last class. Hermione already had her homework out, ready to finish an assignment even before it was 'time' (according to Harry and Ron, that is) to do homework. 

"Interesting is the wrong word to use." Ron groaned and rolled over on the grass, propping his head up on his arms. "Hermione! I thought we agreed not to do work on homework until after dinner- in the library?" 

"You agreed to it. I didn't." she answered back, not even taking her eyes off the book that she was referencing out of. "But the class _was_ certainly interesting. I thought I read all about the faeries last week, but there's actually more to that. Fascinating, really!" 

"Maybe to you." 

Harry was sitting leaned against a tree next to wear Hermione was sitting on one of the roots. He seemed pensive for a moment. "It sounds almost unbelievable." 

"Doesn't it?" Hermione prompted. "I almost wonder if she were telling the truth had I not read that elves couldn't lie…" 

"But it sounds like something either Parvati or Lavender would read!" Ron protested. "All that about true love and whatnots. The two fall in love, one gets cursed, dies, and now the other spends eternity looking for him?" 

"I think it's romantic." Hermione's reply fell on deaf ears. 

"But you can't say that she's lying." Harry protested weakly. He really didn't want to participate in this conversation, but he didn't want to get dragged into it either, which he knew he would be if he had stayed silent. "Like 'Mione said- elves don't lie." 

"Maybe she didn't know. Maybe she, like every other girl, is stuck on this 'romantic' concept and can't see that it's just a fairy tale." 

"Maybe you're just stuck on the notion that you don't have a girlfriend." Hermione replied bitterly. 

Ron shut up. He gave her a weak glare that she didn't even bother to reply to. 

"I don't understand why the two of you are going on about this. It's just history." Harry had focused his eyes on the pale blonde boy that had stepped out into the sunlight as well, shading his eyes with his hand. The dark haired boy really didn't want to think on the tale any more. It unnerved him, for some reason, when they talked of the curse that ended the faerie lineage. 

"Well, yes…" Hermione followed where Harry was looking, then goggled. "What is he doing?" 

The blonde in question had climbed up a tree to the highest point that he could get to, and then sat with one leg dangling over the edge of a branch, and taking out a small pocketbook, stared straight at the three of them. 

Harry shuddered. It was unnerving, to say the least. The blonde Slytherin was a transfer student from Beauxbatons who had arrived nigh a week ago. The trio hadn't known what to expect from him at first, so had left him alone, but had been weirded out when he didn't do anything that the other Slytherins did, instead preferring to sit in a dark corner and study people. 

"Why does he always stare at us?" Was Ron's unnerved murmurs, as the previous conversation was forgotten. The redhead shifted uncomfortably, and drew his robes closer to himself in the spring air. "Merlin knows why he transferred schools in the middle of his seventh year… maybe he was expelled for staring at people." 

"You can't expel someone for that." Hermione amended. "Not unless someone was cursed." 

"Maybe he's cursing us now." Ron nearly whispered it, and Hermione twitched before hitting him over the head with her book. "Ow! Geez- what was that for?!" 

"You should stop gossiping, Ron. Spreading tales about a fellow student when they've done nothing wrong to you! You're a prefect, you should act like one!" 

Harry only shook his head with amusement as Ron pouted unsuccessfully to try and gain Hermione's sympathy. He then turned his focus to cool, grey orbs that stared at him from beneath the canopy of the leaves. There was something about the boy that seemed… old. But not old as in age. The Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, seemed _timeless_. He certainly looked a bit older than seventeen… but who was Harry to judge on appearances? He himself looked like he belonged in fifth year at the most. 

Harry pushed his glasses up to rub at his eyes. His vision had been all whacked up the last few weeks, and his eyes ached from staring through his glasses. _Maybe I need a new prescription,_ Harry thought randomly. _I should talk to Professor McGonagall about going to Hogsmede to get new glasses._

He took off the said frames, and opened his eyes only to see the blurry earth below him. 

_Yup. Definitely need a new prescription. I can barely see three feet in front of myself!_

He frowned at the blurriness of his vision. Certainly his eyesight had never been that terrible before, had it? Looking up into the sky, the vast horizon of blue looked the same as before… but the sky could hardly blur in his eyes when it was endless blue, anyway. 

"Harry?" 

The dark haired Gryffindor turned towards Ron. 

"C'mon. It's time to go to lunch." There was a bemused tone in Ron's voice, and Harry blinked when he realized he'd been staring at the sky for a while now. 

Getting up quickly, he hurried after his two best friends, completely missing the stare that followed him into the castle. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


There was something about green eyes that always got to him. Not greenish-yellow, nor diluted with any other colors. Just _green_. Green like nature, like evergreen trees, like the soft moss that covered the Enchanted Forest layer upon layer… like emeralds. 

He shook his head to clear the painful memories. All the students should be at lunch by now, but he didn't want to join them in that noisy, festering crowd of children. He knew that there was someone seeking to talk with him, someone who wasn't a bumbling girl from the younger years, wanting to ask him questions about himself and blushing all the while. 

No, this was a bumbling older girl who wouldn't blush while speaking to him, instead choosing to drag him around and talk nonstop. 

He had barely step a foot back into the castle when- 

"Ah! I was just looking for you!" The girl he had been thinking about rushed up to him, beaming all the while. "I haven't talked to you for ages, Draco!" 

The blonde Slytherin stifled an inward sigh. "Two years. We haven't talked in two years." 

She latched onto his arm, smiling at his discomfort. "That's a long time to me." 

"It shouldn't be." He grumbled, allowing himself to be dragged down the corridor. "Not when you're bloody older than me." 

"Tsk tsk. You shouldn't speak that way about a lady's age. You never know when you'd get slapped." 

He rolled his eyes heavenward. "Then what is it milady wants?" 

"Just to catch up, of course!" She glanced over at him with a grin that wasn't befitting of her station. "What did you think of this morning, huh? Huh? Didn't I sound wise and mature?" 

It was hard to think of Luna Lovegood as still being a child by elvish standards- especially when she was easily over two thousand years old. Young when thinking of how long elves lived, of course. But she was still ancient to him, and he wouldn't let her forget it. 

"You sounded like you were trying to imitate someone. It seemed very fake." 

Luna pouted at him, drawing him to a stop. "I was trying to sound like my aunt Sybil. She always sounds so wise and all-knowing." 

Oh no. Not her again. 

"Luna- she doesn't exist." 

"She does too! Just because she's invisible and isn't tangible doesn't mean that she's not there. I mean- everyone believes in ghosts, so why don't you believe in Sybil?" 

How long have they had this argument again? She really _was_ a child! 

"Ghosts can be seen. Hogwarts is full of ghosts. Whereas, your invisible friend does not exist. All those little trinkets and gadgets that you wanted me to find so long ago doesn't exist either. I should have know better than to listen to you before I read actual _facts_ about them being fictional." 

Luna huffed. "You're just a non-believer, that's all." 

Amazing as it were, seeing that childish glare and arguing with her made him relax just a bit. Arguing with her was familiar. And it was a lot less tense than being around hundreds of children whom had the most confusing and projective thoughts. 

Draco took the opportunity to lean against a window they had stopped by, absently making sure that there was no one there to overhear them. "And you're the same as always. Should I inquire as to why you're here? I know that the elves wouldn't send someone to the wizarding world unless you actually volunteered for it." 

Luna beamed at him under her fall of dirty blond hair. "Well, I wanted to visit an old friend and see what he was up to." 

"And what is he up to?" 

"Well, I don't know. I was just about to ask." 

Draco gave a nostalgic smile. Talking with Luna really brought him back to old times. She was a sweet child, if a little ditzy and spoiled. After all, elves don't often have children- so she was more than adored for quite a while. He had always felt like the older of the two, even though that was obviously not true. 

He relaxed just slightly. "Same as I'm always up to, Luna. Trying to catch up with the modern world." 

"You haven't heard from him for a while?" 

She didn't have to state who _he_ was. He was the reason that they had first met, after all. 

"Not really. He was the one who wanted me to come here, but who's to know what his motives are? It's been quite a while since I've met with him. He could have changed." 

Him, him, him. Draco didn't want to talk about him. 

Luna studied him closely, quite contemplative. "Alright, then. How's your search going? Are you okay?" 

"Fine." Draco replied tersely. "Everything's going fine, I'm fine… surely this wasn't the question you wanted to ask me. You should have already known the answer that I would give you." 

"Well, it's what Emerald would have wanted me to ask-" 

"Emerald isn't here." 

"And that's why I'm asking for him!" Luna was beginning to sound irritated. "You know that I promised him I would check up on you." 

"And you know as well as I do that I don't like people checking up on me." Draco didn't like anyone mentioning that name. He didn't want to be reminded of what happened so long ago. Yes, Draco was still searching, but after so long- he just wanted some rest. He would continue to search, but he didn't want to be reminded everything minute, every day, every year. It was too painful. He didn't want to remember until the time came. 

Luna sighed. "Well, if it helps… there's a boy here who looks like him." 

Didn't she think he already knew that? "There are many boys who look like him." 

Luna glared. "Now you're just being difficult." 

"So I'm being difficult when I'm stating the truth?" 

"No, you're being difficult when you purposely try to evade my trying to help you." 

Draco pushed himself off the window that he had been leaning on. "Look, Luna." He started. "I appreciate it. God knows I appreciate all your help, and you trying to keep me out of trouble. I know that you also want to help me look for him. But it's just not possible. I can't have anyone's help in this. I know that you try and point things out for me, but… I would like to continue this search alone." 

Luna took a moment to survey her friend, then nodded while making a face. The wording should have bothered her, but she was already used to harsher comments than that coming from him. "Fine. I can't stay long anyway. I'm leaving in two days to go back. I just came to tell you that you're more than welcome back into the elven havens. This search can't be easy on you, and if you want to rest for a few years… well, you know where to find us." 

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Milady." 

He had already turned and was about to leave when she called out again. 

"And Draco? Just remember… we wouldn't hesitate to help you. You or Emerald." 

He didn't acknowledge those words. 

  
  


continued in chapter 2

**Authoress' Notes:** Yes? No? Like? Dislike? I wanted to make this chapter longer, (like- a lot longer. ~_~ Unfortunately, it was not too be. Oh well. Maybe the next chapter.) but it already seemed blatantly obvious who everyone was. I'm probably going to go through the faerie time with flashbacks, and hope that everyone's not too confused.

I really hope that everyone's not *too* OOC. I used Luna as the Elven Princess because I've always liked her character- it was either her or Tonks, but everyone uses Tonks and I wanted our beloved Auror to play another part. And yes, you should know who Sybil is! ^_^ I've also always thought of Harry and Hermione as being really close friends, perhaps closer than Ron and Harry. Why? Just due to book 4 about how Hermione stayed with Harry the entire time Ron didn't. I hope I didn't bore everyone to death with talks of faeries and such! I really wanted to just concentrate on the characters instead, but I needed to get that part over with. So I'll not have everyone talking about faeries for a while and just let them discover it themselves! ^_~ 

  
  



	2. A Faerie Prince Met a Vampire

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard* 

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

Many thanks to Mednar, my beta! ^_^  
  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera 

  
  
_The young Prince of the Seelie faeries grew up to the everything that his people had trained him to be. Still quite young in faerie standards, the prince was already quite accomplished in many areas of academia and fighting. His teachers ranged from his own parents to the simple serving faerie down in the kitchens. He was taught by everyone he met- from the simplest lesson of kindness and healing, to the challenging ones of sword fighting and riding wild beasts. The prince was taught to never underestimate an opponent, and to respect all that he met for everyone was deserving of respect in one way or another. _

But when time came that the prince was to be taught the darker aspects of life, there were none who could bear to teach him. He was much too pure, too kind and good. And it was all their doing, for they could not find it their hearts to tell the young prince about the meaning of pain and heartache, suffering and loss. The Prince continued to grow, and his teachers kept putting off teaching him about the wider world.. 

'Tomorrow,' they would always think to themselves. 'We'll tell him when he's ready. He's much too young to know now.' 

And so the Prince continued to be oblivious to the evils of the world, content to live where he was much loved and nothing bad was allowed to come to him. The King kept to his promise, and the Prince was provided for in any aspect that he could imagine. That was the reason when he was finally denied permission to leave the kingdom, the young Prince could not understand why. 

'We want to protect you,' his mother would say soothingly. 'You are our only child, and the hope of our people.' 

The Prince wanted to comply, but curiosity got the best of him, and he soon found himself wandering beyond the borders of his kingdom, drawn out when he was hunting an exotic animal that he had never seen before. He had forgotten about asking for a guard, had forgotten his promise to not leave in his excitement. He had found the great beast and could not resist the allure of mystery that the creature exuded. That day the Seelie prince had willing followed the beast outside his kingdom, and it changed his life forever. 

  
  


* * * 

  
  


Virginia Weasley (who liked to be known as Ginny) found herself in the seventh year boys' dormitory one fine spring afternoon, rummaging around and snooping through different trunks and drawers in general. Not that she enjoyed snooping around in those trunks and drawers! Oh no, there were just far too many things that she had _not_ wanted to see in her lifetime. 

And just why was she going through the boys' things? It surely wasn't because she was looking for gossip information, as Ginny had never been a big gossiper like Lavender and Parvati were. And no, she wasn't rummaging through everyone's stuff to give her an excuse to go through Harry's things (she had gotten over her crush on him in fourth year, thank you very much!), but instead, she was looking for something specific. 

Casting a complicated unlocking charm and throwing up the lid to another truck, she completely missed the sounds of the door opening and the few footsteps that came in. 

"- and you just wouldn't believe this- What in the world? Ginny!" 

The redheaded Weasley spun on her heels, not the barest hint of guilt on her face as she advanced on her older brother. 

"Where is it? I know you took it, Ronald Weasley! And if you don't give it back, I swear I'll owl mom about this…" 

Ron backed up straight into Harry, nearly bumping the smaller boy down the stairs. Harry gave a small squeak of protest and grabbed onto the doorframe, making sure to balance himself and adjust the glasses that went askew. Ron didn't even notice his best friend's dangerous position as he moved away from his younger sister, recognizing the look in her eyes. 

"Where is what, Ginny? I swear I didn't touch your things at all…" it was then that he noticed the state of the room. His eyes widened and then glared at Ginny, quite indignant. "You were going through our things! You should have asked first, you know! If there's anything missing…" 

"Oh, please." She huffed. "Like I've never seen your underwear before. You forget the things that Fred and George left around the house when they came back from their first year here. There's nothing in this room that can surprise me." Well… sort of. But she didn't really want to admit that to her brother. 

Ron turned a deep red as Harry finally managed to not only balance himself, but edge himself into the room around Ron. The ebony haired boy didn't want to be knocked down the stairs by accident, after all. 

"That still doesn't mean that you can go through our things! It's not like we would ever go through a girl's things!" 

"That's only because you'd all be too embarrassed to. Well, maybe not Seamus, but he's an exception. What? Are you afraid I'd find the love letters you've written to Hermione?" Ginny mocked. 

Harry looked at Ron. "You've written love letters to Hermione?" 

The boy sputtered, now as red as his hair. "N-no!" 

"Or the ones to Pansy?" 

Even Harry choked now. "_Pansy?_" He shook his head fiercely. "Ron, I never know you liked those types of girls." 

"I haven't written love letters to anyone!!" 

"You sure about that, Ron?" 

Ron turned his glare to his grinning best friend. "You're doing this on purpose." He stately flatly. 

Harry snickered. He knew that Ron hadn't written anything resembling love letters. For one thing, Ron couldn't write romantic words to save his own skin. "You're too easy to bait." He turned back towards Ginny, trying his hardest to ignore the fact that she had gone through his things, and extremely grateful that he had never subscribed to the more… _randy_ magazines, like Seamus did. "What did you lose that you might find here?" 

Now it was Ginny's turn to blush. It wasn't because it was Harry who asked her (nope, nope, nope!), but because of what the answer would entail. She had already checked through the boys' dormitories from fourth year and up, and this had been her last stop. She had hoped to find it here so that no questioned would have to be answered. 

"Well?" Harry asked, trying not to sound impatient as Ginny continued to try and delay her response. "We can't exactly help you if you don't tell us what you're looking for. Maybe we could just _tell_ you if we knew where whatever it is you're looking for went." 

"Well, it's… um…." She swallowed a bit, not looking quite embarrassed. "It's my project for Herbology. We were supposed to raise and take care of a magical plant, and I nearly finished my entire project… I have all the notes and everything, but my plant is missing." 

"And why would you accuse the boys of stealing your plant?" Ron wanted to know. He sounded unconvinced that the reason was worth having a girl, especially his sister, go through his drawers. Ron was already stomping back towards his bed, purposely bumping shoulders with Ginny on the way to show her that he was still mad at her. She glared at him to convey that she knew that already. 

"Because!" she snapped, but then looked sheepish. "Boys would more than likely steal it instead of girls." 

Harry frowned. "And why couldn't a girl have stolen it?" 

The blush was coming back to Ginny's face. "Well, girls have no use for it." 

"And _boys_ have a use for this plant?" Was Ron's muffled reply as looked searched through his trunk to ensure that nothing was missing (and that Ginny hadn't found the hidden compartments). 

"Well, yes!" 

Harry decided to search his own trunk as well. Not that he thought Ginny would have taken something, but more because Hermione would have a panic attack if she saw this mess. And he wanted to make sure that nothing got lost under the bed or something… 

"And why would we have a use for your bloody plant?" Ron was complaining, sounding exasperated. 

Ginny turned beet red. "Well.. well… it's a plant that helps… _boys_… grow." 

The innuendo was not lost on either of the boys as Harry's head snapped up, only to bit the lid of his trunk sharply. He let out a string of curses, holding the tender part of the back of his head with both hands, wincing when his fingers found the place where he had hit. 

There was a resounding pained cry from where Ron was. "Ginny!" He sounded panicked, "Why on earth did you pick a plant like _that_?!" 

"It's wasn't me!" Came the immediate response. "I was late for class that day and every other plant had been taken!" 

"Well, I can assure you that no one in this room took it." Harry said, still rubbing at the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure that if someone in this dorm stole a plant like that, it would be public information before the next day." 

"Yeah, Seamus would never be able to keep his mouth shut about it." Ron mumbled. 

Ginny was still quite red, and Harry almost felt sorry for her as her _expression got desperate and slightly panicked. "But where could it have gotten to??" 

  
  


* * * 

  
  


Draco was hungry. 

More than that, he was frustrated and tired of having to be near all these hormonal teenagers. There should be a law written that teenagers not spend a significant amount of time together. Things heated up much too quickly, and he loathed having to watch couples make eyes at each other. 

Especially since he had not felt that way for so long. 

Luna Lovegood always seemed to make his life miserable wherever she went, he decided. It didn't matter that she was trying to make sure he was safe. It only mattered that she continually reminded him of what he had lost, especially with that stunt that she pulled in class. 

Telling them his story. Telling these low-life nothings about a love so grand it should never be defiled from their lips. These gossip mongers would grab up the story immediately, spreading it and corrupting it to suit their fancies. 

Of course, he didn't really feel like that. He was just a bit cynical at the moment, that was all. 

He was hungry. 

Draco let out a small growl of annoyance as he shifted in his seat in Arithmancy. He really didn't understand the point of all these infernal classes, but it surly wouldn't do to protest when he had to blend in. It was hard enough doing so when there were girls all around him staring after Luna had told her story…. _his_ story. It wasn't his fault that he fit the physical definition of a vampire perfectly. Pale skin, quiet and watchful mindset, luminescent eyes, and a posture that spoke of a grace that was… otherworldly. 

Of course, it didn't really help that he was a vampire. 

He wasn't sure why he was still at this school, still staying in these classes of his- except for those eyes. Eyes of unerring green that had stared up at the sky with such a sad, wistful _expression. Draco had seen many whom looked like Emerald in his years, male and female… human or otherwise. But he had not seen eyes like that… eyes which carried within its beautiful depths the burden of the world… for so long. Nearly a hundred years. 

He had been more than prepared to leave the school after Luna had told her tale. But after seeing those eyes… he couldn't. Not yet. He didn't know why, but all he knew was that he had to stay just a little longer. 

He wanted the class to be over with. There was never anything of interest in Arithmancy. He had covered the subject once nearly two hundred years ago, and very little had changed over time. At least in other classes, due to recent discoveries, there was always something new to learn. He couldn't wait until the class ended and he was allowed back into his dorm room, where he could finally get something to eat. He'd been living off very little lately, but had been used to it. After all, he wasn't about to hunt near a school of children. 

He had given up hunting a long while ago when the Ministry of Magic began tagging vampires. It was disgraceful, but somehow the Ministry had gotten a hold of all magical creatures, making them sign their rights away when they revealed that they were either a vampire, werewolf, or some other dark creature. If not for the intervention of his sire, all vampires would have been tagged long ago to ensure that they did not kill an innocent. 

Draco disliked the modern world. The Ministry knew altogether too much, and yet nothing at all. It had potential to be a great ruling body, but yet it was so easily manipulated by those in power. It was most pathetic, and a repeat of the mistakes in the Roman empire that his sire had told him about. Power begets a longing for more power. Power corrupts absolutely. 

That was the reason that he could not stand the muggle world. The world which should have learned from mistakes of the past and moved on to a better and more enlightened society. Even though the wizarding world was falling apart as well, they were as far gone as the muggle world. The wizarding world still had the chance at redemption if they only opened their eyes. 

But of course, no wizard would ever trust the word of a dark creature. Especially a vampire. His opinions mattered nothing, and he knew that now. Years ago, Draco had wanted to change the world. Now, all he wanted was to fulfill the promise he made to Emerald so long ago. He wanted the peace that he had felt in the faerie world. He wanted… forgiveness. 

Because no matter how much he knew that he could not have done anything more, Draco felt burdened. He had been indirectly connected to the fall of the Seelie faeries. And the more everyone forgave him, the more guilty he felt. 

He really didn't want to dwell on the thought. He just wanted class the end. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


_The young faerie prince had never been away from his home before, never been out of the forest without at least the accompaniment of a dozen guards. So when the prince lost sight of the magnificent creature that had lured him away, he became scared. Although quite a bit older now, he was still a young child in faerie terms, and faeries had always been overprotective of their children. _

It wasn't long into his panic before he heard a twig snap, and whirled around to find the most curious thing he had ever seen in his life. A boy with pale blonde hair helping a younger girl into the clearing, making sure that she did not step where she could hurt her bare feet. The faerie prince had never seen one not of his race before, and was once against swept away with his curiosity. He wandered towards the couple cautiously, inquiring as to who they were before they even noticed he was there. 

The blonde boy had spun around, teeth bared and snarling. It was the young blond girl who had held him back, allowing the faerie prince to see the long fangs that the boy had. The prince startled, but did not seemed scared of them. It only heightened his curiosity as he had never seen someone with fangs like that before (nor had he ever been taught about dark creatures). 

The girl tried to explain that she and her friend were seeking sanctuary in the faerie kingdom, and that the king of the Seelie would understand once he saw who she was. The prince was now overrun with questions in his mind, but he managed to inform them that he was from the faerie kingdom, but could not help to guide them as he was lost. 

But the girl only laughed and told him that it was alright. She knew her way to the kingdom, and he could follow them back. 

When the three of them had finally reached the kingdom of Sidhe faeries, the prince was greeted with many a relieved face, as everyone had worried about his safety. He only stayed long enough to reassure them of his welfare before going to greet his father and inform him of the guests that had arrived. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


It was later that evening when Harry had lost his balance at the bottom of the staircase (thank Merlin not on the top) when the stones began to move. He wobbled and dropped his books, but managed to hit the ground too hard himself. 

Rubbing sore palms and wincing, Harry wondered why in the world he had volunteered to return Hermione's books to the library. His two best friends had decided that they wanted some "alone time" with each other, and Harry had left before he could gag. Of course, it had been the stupid excuse he had used that got him into this situation. 

Sighing and wondering at the bad day (which had turned out to be okay after the first class), Harry got to his knees and began picking up the heavy tomes that his best friend stated was for 'light reading'. Ginny had offered to help him carry the books, but the boy had refused, not wanting her to suffer his poor decision to help Hermione. 

_But still,_ he thought speculatively. _It's good that I got away from Ron and 'Mione. Having to study with them another minute would have made me a diabetic!_

Yes, the couple was sappy. Yes, the couple was sweet. While they fought all day, they made up for it in the evenings when they would just sit and stare into each other's eyes, sighing all the while. 

Harry was sick of it. 

Oh, he loved his best friends dearly, and knew that they were happy with each other. He wanted them happy with each other, he had more than encouraged it before they even got together. He had been their number one support from the first step, and usually didn't regret it. 

But sometimes… (times like now *cough*) they were just a little too much. 

Harry never even heard another set of footsteps before he saw a pale hand picking a few of the heavy books like it weighed nothing. He looked up quickly, almost banging into the other person's chin. His green eyes widened at the sight of the elusive and mysterious addition to the Slytherin house. Pale grey eyes stared at his face, unblinking and reflective, looking at him as if the Slytherin was trying to figure something out. 

"Are you alright?" the blonde boy asked quietly. "I saw you fall." 

Harry's face heated up, and he gave a quick nod. "Yes… I was just startled for a bit, that's all." He stood up, unnerved by the close proximity with the other boy. The Slytherin stood up as well, never taking those grey orbs off him. Harry's face only grew more flushed knowing that the blonde had witnessed his blunder. "Umm… thank you for helping me." 

The blonde Slytherin only studied him for another moment before tucking the large amount of books he was holding for Harry upon one arm and with the faintest smile, held out an arm. "Draco Malfoy. I don't think we've ever been properly introduced." 

Harry found himself reaching for the hand before he hesitated a moment. This was a Slytherin. Slytherins, according to most people, were nothing but low-life scum to be left on the bottom of your shoe. Every Slytherin there was seemed to be out to get him, and this could be another ploy to catch him unawares. 

Two years ago, Harry would have been glad to make a friend. But now he was cautious enough to understand that perhaps Draco Malfoy had offered him his hand because Harry had yet to form any opinions about him. Maybe this was a plot to get him to let his guard down. He certainly didn't want to refuse the other boy in case the blonde was sincere, but Harry knew that he could not trust as easily as he once had. 

Seeing the dark haired boy's indecision, Draco lowered his arm, now looking slightly amused. It wasn't what Harry had expected, but he was glad that the Slytherin didn't seem to take offense and allowed him to not make a choice. 

"Harry Potter." He replied with a small smile. "But you probably already knew that." 

"Yes." Draco replied honestly. "I've heard my house mates talk about you a lot. The 'nuisance' of their lives, if I'm not correct." 

Harry grew red once more. 

"But then, they've also said much about things that shouldn't be mentioned- many that I don't agree with. So I'm willing to discard their opinions about you before I can make my own." 

"Should I be thankful?" Harry asked warily, glancing at the books that Draco had. 

"Perhaps." Draco said. "Yes. No. It doesn't matter. Where are you going with all these books, anyway?" 

"To the library, of course. I'm just going to return them for a friend. Thank you for helping me, but I think I'll be on my way." 

Harry had expected Draco to perhaps shrug and give him back the books. He had even braced his arms for the extra weight, but none came. 

"These look heavy. Are you sure you should carry this alone? I think I'll come with you." 

Harry blinked, but then felt the same stubbornness that had been present with Ginny rise up again. "You needn't, really. I'm more than capable enough of getting this to the library just fine." He was used to people trying to help him all the time, perhaps because they thought that he wasn't able to get things done. He had been angry when this first started, but Hermione and Ron both explained to him that it was because of his small stature that everyone felt they needed to help him. It was a natural thing, not because they thought him to be weak. 

"I know that you can get there fine. But these books can't be light." 

"They're not." He admitted. "But I've done this many times before." 

"Ahh." Draco smirked faintly. "Is this considered a form of exercise, then?" 

Harry fidgeted for a moment, before giving up and starting to walk towards the library. Draco followed by his side, stepping to his own steps. He didn't answer the other boy's question, being a bit uncomfortable with the casual manner in which the Slytherin seemed to engage him in. Harry spared a glance at the taller boy through the protection of his wayward bangs, wondering what the pale enigma was thinking. 

Draco wasn't like any other Slytherin that he had met before. No other had volunteered to help him, nor offered to befriend him. Seven years of bitter resentment towards Slytherins and the idea that he was fit for that house seemed to fall away with Draco Malfoy. Unlike the rest of his housemates, Draco wasn't taunting and malicious, preferring instead to watch quietly the ongoing of the school. 

"Why are you helping me?" Harry found himself asking as they walked together down the silent corridors, filled to the brim with shadows that was created by the torches on the walls. He was curious. There was something about the other boy that just seemed… otherworldly. 

"Should I not be helping you?" Draco asked amiably. His pace was brisk and graceful, looking more like he was gliding than he was walking. "I saw you struggling with these books." 

"I thought you said you saw me fall." 

"Yes, I saw that too." The Slytherin sounded amused. 

Harry stared at him openly, thoughts racing. The other boy was mysterious, and Harry just knew that Draco was hiding something. Not just one something, but he was withholding many secrets. He wasn't sure if the secrets were being help from just him, or the public in general. Perhaps Draco was hiding secrets from himself. 

The blonde Slytherin practically radiated danger. It was as if a deep, instinctual feeling inside him was saying that Draco was dangerous. That Draco was a natural predator that should not be trifled with. But even deeper was the sense that he was safe. That the tall blonde would not harm anyone, even though he had the potential to. He was safe. 

Harry hadn't felt safe in a long time. 

Finally relaxing some, Harry finally turned back to look in front of him. He smiled. "You're different from everyone else, Draco Malfoy." 

The other boy quirked his lips upward. "I should think so." 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Luna stared out the window of her guest quarters, basking in the breeze of the evening air. She wasn't used to being confined in one place, even if the place was as beautiful and full of magic as Hogwarts. She was surprisingly somber for the evening, not wanting to disturb the air of serenity that had enveloped itself around the school. 

Tonight would be special, the winds whispered to her. Tonight was the beginning of something important, something that would be the beginning of a great chain of events. She could only stay one more day at this beautiful school before she had to leave, for she could not leave Tonks alone to guard any longer than she had to. 

Luna had been meaning to tell Draco. She really had. She had come to the castle in the first place to tell him about the finding of the dragon, meaning that the time was near. She had been so excited- partially scared because she didn't know what would really happen- but had been gushing with happiness since she and Tonks had stumbled upon the sleeping dragon. Full grown, too! 

She had wanted to mention it- just to make him feel better. Draco was one of her best friends, after all. If it hadn't been for him, she might not have been alive today. But his reaction… his _expression when she mentioned Emerald… he seemed devastated. Like he had nearly given up all hope already, and was clinging onto nothing but his anger to symbolize that he was still searching. 

Draco Malfoy was a bitter one. He had been easy to anger since before she had met him. Luna once thought that Emerald would mellow him out, but it turned out that he didn't. Draco might have been content (and deliriously happy, although he had refused to admit it then) when Emerald was alive, but his bitterness towards the world only increased with Emerald's death. 

She couldn't bring herself leave Draco alone. Although not particularly close, she had liked Emerald very much. And he had made her promise to look out after the wayward vampire. She had tried everything to save Emerald, but she just couldn't combat the curse. Her magic had never been too stable, and while she had never given it a second thought, Emerald's death had been the first time in her life where Luna felt like she had to learn more. She had to learn to control her magic, learn to harness its strengths. 

She had a feeling that Albus Dumbledore knew. The old wizard had long been a friend of the elves, and knew far more than he let on. Still, he was only human with a human's weakness for mistakes. She had conferred to him when she first arrived, hoping that perhaps he would tell her the details that her elders had withheld from her. It was to no avail as Luna soon realized that the man did not want to indulge that information about why the dragon had appeared. 

Stupid dragon. It would not awake until the day that someone came to challenge it for the faerie kingdom. It was actually her fault it was there. A hundred years ago, her magic had been too unstable and filled with ideas of its own. She had only wanted to protect the faerie kingdom, so she had created the fiercest dragon to guard its sleeping inhabitants, an invisible guardian that would attack those who tried to claim the magic of the faerie kingdom. The dragon would disappear once the prince came back to claim his birthright. 

The only problem barring, though, that the prince could not claim his birthright without going through the dragon. She hadn't thought of that when she cast the spell. 

Not only that… no one was supposed to be able to see the dragon. Luna had tried to weaken the spell she had cast so long ago- and she had done so to an extent. Once the faerie prince was born again, the invisible guardian would now be visible so that it could be fought. Seeing the dragon so solid an image meant that the prince had long been born… 

She wanted to tell that to Draco to give him hope. 

_Don't give up._ she wanted to say then. _It won't be long until you see him again._

But she couldn't do it. Couldn't put him through the pain of giving him hope when she wasn't sure that Emerald could be found. If she told him of the news and he did not find Emerald within the next lifetime, he just might break. Long ago she had thought Draco too strong to ever break; but she changed her mind after the fall of the Seelie kingdom. 

Draco was on the verge of giving up hope… and Luna didn't want to be the last straw that broke his mind. 

  
  


continued in chapter 3

**Authoress' Notes:** I realized that I've never written Ginny in before, and she was a surprisingly fun character to do. Probably because she's not as restrained as Hermione, and that she once had a crush on Harry. I really don't know where that scene came from- only that I wanted to try and write Ginny, and have something funny. Don't worry- you'll hear from that plant in later chapters. XD It'll be back! And Ron and Hermione's relationship will be explained in the third chapter- I already have that part written. ^_^

Thanks so very much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! ^_^ Yes, Draco is the vampire. LOL. Everyone got that one in the bag. Responses to everyone is in my LiveJournal (the address is in my profile) and there's also updates on my writing. ^_~ Due to the great responses and encouragments by everyone, I want to try and update this story once a week (I'll try!) so I hope everyone will be able to see an update on Fridays/Saturdays.


	3. And the Two became Close Friends

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard* 

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

Many thanks and kisses to my beta, Mednar! ^_^ 

  
  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera 

  
  
_It turned out that the boy was a vampire… one whom had been ordered by his sire to kill an elvish princess. The vampire childe refused to comply, forcing both him and the elvish princess to go into hiding. They had been on their way to the elvish havens, but had been hunted by something sinister. Deciding to take a detour, the elvish princess led the both of them into the faerie kingdom where they met the lost faerie prince. _

The prince was delighted with this story, and questioned the princess in great depths about everything she had seen of the outside world. She answered his questions in stride, not bothered by the words, but not touched by them either. It wasn't long before the prince realized that she had no interest in talking with him, and so he went to the boy vampire for his answers. 

The vampire had been greatly disturbed at first by the faerie's inquisitiveness, but slowly grew to cherish them as the faerie prince's questions made him feel important and allowed him to talk for hours on end about the life he had once missed. 

'Do you still miss that life?' the prince asked one day as the two were resting near a lake. 'The life of a vampire?' 

'No.' the pale vampire admitted. 'I used to, but not anymore. I'm glad I'm here with you now.' 

The smile that the faerie prince gave was more brilliant than anything that the vampire childe had ever seen before, and he found himself smiling back, feeling warmer knowing that he could provoke such a smile from the prince. It was from that day on that the prince and the vampire childe were found to be inseparable. The two of them were always with each other as the elvish princess negotiated with the faerie king and queen for her safe return without catching the attention of the sinister beings after them. 

The prince grew more and more fond of the vampire, and he pleaded with his parents to allow a vampire to stay in the faerie kingdom, for the other desired it as well. Seeing as to both the boy vampire and the elvish princess acquiescing, the king could not deny his child that request, although there had never before lived a dark creature in the faerie kingdom. 

The elvish princess was soon returned to her family while the vampire childe stayed in the faerie kingdom, telling great tales to the faerie prince, living off pre-offered blood and generally coming to know and respect the Seelie faeries very much. Although many had been suspicious of his intentions at first, seeing a need to have someone watch over the faerie prince at all times while the vampire was there, their concerns were soon sated when the vampire fought back to back with the prince when they had been surrounded by wild beasts. The faerie folk soon noticed the tender looks that were exchanged between the two, and all their doubts about the vampire abated. 

But their happiness was not to last for long as the boy vampire's sire soon found out who had helped the elvish faeries escape. Many dark creatures rose up in battle against the faeries, containing all their spite and bitterness at being denied the blood of the immortal elvish princess. Because the elf havens were safe from all attacks, the dark creatures turned their attentions of the faerie kingdom, leading to a bloody war that lasted decades. The end of the war was the death of the Seelie queen and king, who had sacrificed themselves so that their people would not have to fight anymore. With their sacrifice, the fey kind would be immune to any and all attacks from dark creatures. 

The prince grieved deeply for his parents' loss, and knew that he would have to be the one to carry on the royal faerie blood. He was not yet of age to become king, but knew that without leadership, all the Seelie faeries were doomed to disaster just like the Unseelie. The war had been his first taste of malice, sorrow, and darkness. He found, much to his own disgust, that he had a natural affinity to the dark. Trying to bury that thought, the prince rebuilt the faerie kingdom with his people, carrying the flame of hope for many. 

The vampire childe never left his side anymore. There was too much sadness in the faerie prince for the pale vampire to safely leave him. The vampire endured all the screaming rows that they had, the hysterical sobbing, and the periods of tense silence that usually followed. The faerie prince was scared of growing too dependent on the boy vampire, but knew that he couldn't stop his gravitation towards the blonde. 

With all the stress in the faerie kingdom and the dark creatures still seething at their failed destruction of those who had defied them, a dark wizard came into the game. The sire of the vampire who sided with the faeries found that he could not do anything to harm the fey kind, so he hired a dark wizard to cast a powerful curse. 

The dark wizard had seized this opportunity to allow his apprentice practice. What, he asked his apprentice after much study of the fey culture, could we do to strike the hardest blow to the Seelie faeries? 

'They take pride in their royal family.' The apprentice replied evenly. 'With the king and queen both dead, all their hopes fall to the Seelie prince.' 

The dark wizard laughed heartedly at his apprentice's perception. He grinned evilly, taking pride in his heir's insights. 

'Exactly.' 

  
  


* * *

  
  


_He didn't even look at my scar._

Harry gave a goofy grin to no one in particular as he strode through the Gryffindor portrait, having already given the password. He had Draco had gotten along amazing despite the earlier uneasiness, and the two had talked on and on about nothing at all, giving little tidbits of their personality in their words. The conversation had ended with Draco outside the Gryffindor tower, and Harry asking if they could talk again like this tomorrow. Draco had immediately grinned and replied that he hoped they could talk everyday. 

The two had not questioned each other on aspects of their personal life, and Harry found that greatly refreshing. He was tired of everyone inquiring to his health and sanity, and Draco had done neither of that, instead choosing to waste his words on pointless subjects that Harry eagerly participated in. 

Making his way over to where Ron and Hermione was sitting before the fire, Harry flopped himself into a soft armchair with a small sigh of contentment, closing his eyes and cherishing the lingering feeling of warmth that was left when he talked to Draco. It was so good to connect with someone like that, to make a new friend who could relate to him so well. They seemed almost the opposite in personality, but the two of them got on terrifically. 

His two best friends had stepped their talking the moment he sink into the chair, and were watching him quite suspiciously. They exchanged a knowing look with each other, and both tried to scoot closer to where Harry was sitting. 

Harry opened his eyes again at the off sounds, and blinked when he found both Ron and Hermione staring at him. 

"What?" He asked plaintively. 

Ron tried to suppress a grin. "Who were you talking to outside, mate? I thought you were just going to return 'Mione's library books." 

Harry grinned suddenly, feeling warm again and wanting to tell his friends all about Draco. "I did. I met Draco Malfoy on the way… you know, our new transfer student?" 

The ebony-haired boy nearly fell off his seating in shock as Ron started choking, looking like he had just gotten water down the wrong windpipe. Hermione just sat next to the redheaded boy (who was starting to turn as red as his hair) and didn't do a thing to help him. In fact, she was starting to develop a Cheshire grin on her face. 

"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked, trying to get up from his perch so that he could help his friend. Ron only waved his help away with one hand, his other hand fisted and banging against his chest. Harry turned his questioning gaze to Hermione, who snickered and shook her head. 

"Don't worry about Ron, Harry." She said soothingly. "He's just getting over the shock of owing me two galleons, that's all." 

"But why would he owe you-" 

Ron finally got his voice back at that moment. "Blimey, Harry!" He protested. "Why can't you do something predictable for once?" 

The poor boy only felt more confused at the statement, and now looked to Hermione desperately for answers. 

Hermione's grin stretched. "I told him it would be a boy." 

Comprehension dawned on Harry. 

"You were betting about me!" he accused, pointing at the two. But then the full implications of what she had said sunk in, and he sputtered, turning quite red, "I do _not_ fancy Draco!" 

Hermione laughed. "On a first name basis already, Harry?" 

Harry tried to disappear into the cushions, ignoring what Hermione just said. "I do not fancy Draco." He reiterated stubbornly. 

"Trust me." Hermione continued. "I know that look you came in with. It's the same look that Dean had on after Padma agreed to go to the Yule Ball with him. You'd notice the look if you saw it yourself. Cor- even Ron recognized that look! You're _smitten_ with him, Harry!" 

She elbowed Ron strongly in the ribs, and he nodded enthusiastically. "It's true, Harry. I recognize that look." Then Ron grinned, looking like his older twin brothers at that moment. "Ickle Harry fancies someone!" he teased. 

Harry wanted to protest. He had only truly met Draco but a few minutes ago. He did not like Draco like that, he only wanted Draco as a friend. He remembered what it felt like when he talked with Cho, all the nervousness and the sweaty palms, the flush on his cheeks and the racing heart. He remembered nearly stuttering around her, and how his mind just about went blank with envy when she laughed. 

He had fancied Cho at one time. He did _not_ fancy Draco. And he wasn't in denial, either! No way. Draco just felt familiar, that was all. He was someone that Harry could talk with and not worry about his problems. Draco was the normalcy that Harry longed for. 

"You guys are wrong." Harry stated quite calmly, satisfied with the deduction of his thoughts. "I don't fancy Draco. I never talked to him before today." 

"I would normally agree with you." Ron said. "But I know that look too well." 

Harry tried to change the subject. "You two are looking rather cozy with each other. I thought you broke up two days ago?" 

He wasn't really interested in the answer, seeing as he had seen his two best friends break up and make up far more times than he could count. It seemed to happen every few weeks, when one or the other did something wrong and they would break up… leading to Hermione mocking Ron about not having a girlfriend, as she knew it was a sensitive subject to him. Then they would make up. 

"We did." Hermione replied casually. "We got back together tonight. Don't change the subject, Harry. You need to tell us all about what's between you and Malfoy." 

Ron now looked like he didn't want to be part of the conversation. He stood up quickly, glancing up the dormitory stairs awkwardly. "I'll think I'll turn in early now that homework's been done. Goodnight, 'Mione, Harry." 

Hermione only shook her head in response as Ron hurried up the stairs in order to escape having to listen to something that he might later regret. But she turned back to Harry quickly enough, and gave him a look that insisted he tell her. 

"There's nothing between us!" Harry exclaimed after Hermione's smoldering look. He felt frustrated that his best friends had taken the initiative to dig into his love life when there was nothing there. "We just talked for the first time today… and you make it sound like we're in love with each other!" 

_I don't even know if he likes boys._ Harry thought, but then added hastily, _I don't like boys._

It was true… almost. He didn't like boys to the extent that he didn't like girls… Harry had not been a normal teenaged boy. The one crush that he had was on Cho Chang, which lasted about two years and then disappeared after that horrendous date in fifth year. For some reason, he had never bothered to think about either boys or girls after that. 

Probably due to the mental trauma of that date. 

"Well, I've never seen you with that _expression before. What am I supposed to think?" Hermione huffed, and leaned back against the couch she was sitting in. "Besides, Malfoy's not bad on the eyes… there's definitely more than a few girls who were mooning after him since he's arrived. But you're the first one he's talked to." 

Harry darkened at that thought. Maybe Draco had talked to him because of who he was? Maybe he was told to get close to the Boy Who Lived, and then catch him off guard. 

Seeing the distrusting look that Harry had, Hermione quickly amended, "Maybe you're the only one he found interesting enough. He did seem to stare at you a lot." 

Harry was still more than a little skeptical. After all, that information only intensified his belief that Draco was sent to lure him into a trap. 

"Give him a chance." Hermione said. "Of course… don't follow him if he wants to lead you somewhere, don't touch anything that he offers to you, and don't give him any information that might be used against you." 

Harry glared at her. "That's not much of 'giving him a chance', 'Mione." 

She grinned sheepishly and shrugged. 

_But yes._ Harry thought. _I can do that. I can be cautious while still being able to be a friend. As long as I follow that Hermione says, I can still talk with him and such._

He nodded at a grinning Hermione determinately. Yes, he could do that. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Canary creams." Draco said with a grimace, watching the stone gargoyle warily as it moved aside to allow him entrance. The pale vampire gave the headmaster's sanity a few seconds' thought as he pondered on the type of password that Dumbledore chose. He moved briskly to the door of the office, opening it without a knock for he knew that the headmaster would have known he was coming anyway. 

Indeed, when he strode into the room, Albus Dumbledore was already sitting behind his desk with his hands clasped together in a patient and comfortable look, his eyes twinkling behind half moon glasses. This only fuelled Draco's dark _expression. 

"What can I do for you, Mr. Malfoy?" 

The question was simple and would be asked of anyone who charged into the headmaster's office, but the knowing tone behind it was too much for the vampire, who seethed with the idea that this old man (who was actually younger than him) knew more than him. 

"Why did you allow me into this school?" Draco demanded, pushing both palms against the top of the headmaster's desk. "You much have known I was a vampire in the very beginning. If not, then I told you in the middle of the interview. Why would you allow a vampire into your precious school?" 

"Because you do not wish to harm anyone here." Dumbledore replied casually, "You had been recommended by the elves, and had no history of offense with the Ministry of Magic." 

"So you would allow any dark creature without a criminal record into this school, then? That can't be the only reason!" 

"Mr. Malfoy." Now the tone was much hardened and firm. "I do not agree with the Ministry's prejudices. I have taught many magical creatures on the premises of this school barring that they hold to me their promise for not harming my students. What they do with my teachings after Hogwarts I cannot control, as I cannot control who becomes a dark wizard. But none of the students have ever broken their promise to me because they know that they would not like the consequences." 

Draco's anxiety and slight anger abated after that statement, and he collapsed into a chair that had been conveniently behind him. "Is that all?" he asked rather weakly. "Is that the reason you allowed me here?" 

At this, the headmaster seemed to soften. "I have been a friend of the elves for some time, Mr. Malfoy." He tried to explain. "I have long heard of your search for the re-born faerie prince. Of course, it is not my place to help you… but it is also not my place to hinder you on your search." 

"Is he here?" Draco asked, ignoring the 'not my place to help you' statement. His tone was quite desperate. "Please. Is he one of the students? Is that why you didn't protest to me wanting to search this school? Is he Harry Potter?" 

There was a long moment as Dumbledore studied the desperation apparent in Draco's voice. The vampire was tense as a bow string, grey eyes near glowing and flashing in a way that radiated danger and violence if he were lied to or denied. 

"I have allowed you here to continue your search, Mr. Malfoy. I cannot help or hinder you in any way, like I said. Mr. Potter has certainly had enough amazing circumstance happen to him in his lifetime, but Harry is still just a student of this school. It is you who must be able to tell who the faerie prince is, not me." Dumbledore paused and gave him a knowing look. 

Draco gritted his teeth in frustration. Was that a no? A yes? It certainly sounded like Dumbledore was implying he already knew who the faerie prince was, but at the same time it sounded like he was saying Harry wasn't anyone special. Or was he just saying that despite everything Harry was, he was a student as well? 

He was confused. 

Dumbledore gave a grim smile. "You should return to your dorm, Mr. Malfoy. No doubt it is near curfew already. Your housemates would inquire about you if you are gone past the allowable time." 

But Draco didn't care about being out past curfew. He was older than most living creatures in Hogwarts anyway. He was certainly older than those who enforced the rules here, anyway. He wanted answers to all the questions that were swirling around in his head. 

Was he right? Was Harry Potter the one he had been searching for? Resemblance of the eyes did not mean anything. Physical resemblance did not mean anything. There were tons of people he had seen over the years who could easily pass as someone related to the faerie prince, but none had been him. There was one way he could tell, but he didn't want to risk being wrong. 

But he gave the headmaster a curt nod before spinning on his heels and marching away from the office, away from the possible answers he might gain. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


"This is impossible." Harry said disgustedly as he took of his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. It was the next day after their Charms class, with the Trio on their way to Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Harry's eyes had been aching all day, and he just couldn't stop rubbing his eyes sore. 

"Don't do that!" Hermione scolded as she pulled Harry's hand away from his eyes. "You're going to make it worse." 

"Maybe you should just stick to a potion to correct your vision," Ron suggested. He glanced over curiously as Harry struggled to get his hands away from Hermione's range as his eyes were both itching and aching badly enough to demand a rubbing. "I don't understand why you keep those glasses." 

Ron did understand, of course. Harry had explained it to him many times whenever the question came up, about how he just didn't feel comfortable without his glasses on. But being that Ron never wore glasses for long periods before and didn't know many people who did, he just didn't understand. 

That was until Harry asked him, "Can you _honestly_ imagine me going around without glasses?" 

And Ron had hesitated, then finally conceded that yes, those horrid glasses were a part of the Harry-image he had. 

"How do your eyes hurt, Harry?" Hermione asked as she once again swatted Harry's hands away from his eyes. "And stop that! Your eyes are red enough already!" 

Harry blinked rapidly to try and dispel the feeling of sandiness that remained, wincing at how dry his eyes felt. "Everything's too bright." He stated. "It doesn't hurt because it's bright, though… the brightness just adds to it. It feels as if my eyes are trying to adjust to the brightness, and that's what hurts the most." 

"Maybe your eyes are correcting themselves," Hermione suggested. "It's not too uncommon for a wizard." 

"No." Harry replied dejectedly. "Everything's still as blurry as ever." 

Hermione worried her bottom lip before saying, "How about sunglasses, then? Your eyes might just be more sensitive to light right now. It might be a phase that soon passes." 

With a wave of her wand, Hermione darkened Harry's glasses until he felt his eyes stop aching so much. 

Harry blinked. 

Ron burst out laughing when he saw his best friend. 

Hermione looked slightly bashful. "Alright… so that looks undoubtedly strange…" Yes, with his round glasses, Harry looked like he had two huge black eyes. "Well, I guess I can model it a bit more like a pair that I have…" with another wave of her wand and a few muttered words under her breath, Hermione once again changed Harry's glasses. 

The ebony haired boy brought a hand up to his eyes, touching the frames of his glasses tentatively. It was still black framed glasses, although now it was decidedly not round, but a more oval shape and much thinner around the top and bottom. It was also much darker, and Harry found that his eyes didn't hurt as much anymore due to that. But the world looked a little more… green. 

"It also protects your eyes from ultraviolet radiation." Hermione stated proudly. She was tapping her wand against her chin in contemplation. "That could be the reason why your eyes are sensitive. You're usually outside in the sun for Quidditch practice, and an overdose of UV rays is never good for you." 

After finger his newly improved glasses, Harry smiled her at. "Thanks, 'Mione… this _is_ a bit better." 

Not that the irritated feeling in his eyes had gone away. But his eyes weren't drying and then tearing as fast anymore, so Harry considered that an improvement. 

"Blimey… why green?" Ron whined. They had continued their way to the greenhouses, and were passing a few curious looks at Harry's new eyewear. "Why couldn't you have just stayed with the darkened color?" 

"Because with Harry's complexion, it looks like he bruised his eyes." Hermione tried to explain lightly. Harry just listened along, opting not to join into this conversation. "Red looks strange enough… blue would clash with Harry's eyes, and I doubt neither of you would don purple sunglasses." 

Ron blanched. "When did you get into color coordination?" he demanded. 

"I am a _girl_, Ron." Hermione said strictly. "I may not acknowledge it, but I sometimes notice things like that. Cor, even _you_ notice when girls don't look their best. I'm just trying to help Harry out, that's all." 

"Next thing you know, you'd be giving him a new wardrobe." Ron grumbled. 

"I would if he agrees." Hermione responded completely ignoring the fact that Harry was standing next to her and protesting vehemently. "Merlin knows he needs a new one." 

Harry let out a strangled noise while Ron reluctantly agreed. 

  
  


***

  
  


Draco was going through the things he had brought it Hogwarts with him in his school trunk. Headmaster Dumbledore had left him more confused than ever, but Draco was near positive that the boy he talked to the night before was the one he was looking for. But he didn't want to believe lest it not be true. 

It had been too long. He had been so optimistic at the beginning, thinking that a hundred years could not be much. Surely with his age… and with the love he had experienced, he would be able to easily endure. A hundred years should have been a breeze, and it should have easy to find his beloved again. 

Nothing could have been further from the truth. 

His high hopes continued to fragment over the years as he searched thousands, traveling from country to country, continent to continent as he grew more and more desperate to find his prince. Draco began to realize over the years that the spell didn't state when or where the faerie prince would be reborn, only that it would be within a hundred years. 

With each attempt to identify someone and end his search, Draco found himself once more broken hearted. Each brush with anyone who reminded him of Emerald let a scar when Draco realized he was wrong. 

He didn't want another scar. 

It had been over fifteen years since he had allowed another into his heart, and he didn't want to allow Harry Potter the access of those broken fragments unless Draco knew he was correct. The faerie prince, after all, had stolen his heart long ago… and he was just looking for it again. 

And he was almost sure that Harry Potter was the end of his search. Those brilliant eyes that he saw briefly yesterday before lunchtime, those eyes that nearly glowed in their luminance, looked too familiar to him. 

_Although I've seen a great many pairs of eyes that looked like his,_ Draco rationalized to himself, _And none of them had been the eyes I've been looking for._

It was near the bottom of his trunk when he found the glass case. Draco tugged on the glass, making sure to pull it out from the sharp edges of books gently. It would not due for the glass case to break and let out his precious gift. It wouldn't guarantee it, but Draco was sure that this item could identify the faerie prince. It was, after all, once his. 

Lifting the glass case gently, Draco leaned back to rest on his legs as he placed the case gently on his lap and turned it over to the front. 

_Camthalion Lessien Coamenel-Súrion_

Draco traced the writings on the bottom of the case with a tip of his finger, whispering the name slowly to himself. For faeries, birth names granted power. Names were words of power that could be used against them, and so Draco treasured this particular treasure of his almost more than anything. It was a rose encased in a glass of tinted pastels, one that would never wilt or die in the hands of those who are its owners. 

He stared at it for a few moments longer before wrapping the case tenderly inside the folds of his school uniform. He had to go find Harry. They didn't have any classes together for the day, but he was sure that he could find the other boy around lunchtime sitting outside near the lake. 

Hurrying out of the Slytherin dormitories and then slipping out of the common room, Draco went straight for the nearest exit of the castle. He used to hate the sun, but that had changed a while ago, and he now reveled in being able to soak in the sunlight. Hurrying out of a door that led to the Quidditch field, Draco saw the most peculiar sight. 

He used a hand to rub his eyes to make sure that the sun hadn't gotten to him. 

Why was there…. A potted _plant_… running with its sprouted roots into the Forbidden Forest?? 

  
  


continued in chapter 4

**Authoress' Notes:** Yes, Ron and Hermione relationship is weird. But I've actually had friends who kept breaking up and getting back together again. It's annoying, but funny. XD And the vision thing will be explained a bit later, although it's starting to unfold. The glasses that I described for Harry is actually a combination of my computer glasses and sunglasses. I do have green sunglasses somewhere in my room.. I just couldn't find it. ^^;; 

Oooh!! In case no one really thought about it, this _IS_ a fairy tale. A really, really bad reedition of it on crack, but it's a re-do of a fairy tale nontheless. And it should be pretty easy to guess. I added the rose from Beauty and the Beast, but NO, this is not Beauty and the Beast... ~_~;;

The plant is comic relief. ^^;; It has no place whatsoever in this story as anything other than comic relief and a funny idea that I had. It's going to stick around for a while. XD I hope everyone enjoys the relaxed moods that I try to put down since I'm a bit sick of going through angst. ^^;; Once again, all responses to reviews for chapter 2 is in my LiveJournal, which you can find in my profile.


	4. But Soon a Curse was Cast

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard* 

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

Beta'd by Mednar~ who's the coolest ever and one you should thank for getting rid of all my horrible, unstructured writing! ^_^ Without her, this chapter would be crap. ^^;; 

  
  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera 

  
  
_It wasn't long before the prince and the vampire realized that they needed each other to go on. The vampire childe had turned his back on the rest of the dark creatures to support the one he grew to love, and the faerie prince had grown too dependent on the vampire childe being there to make a single decision without looking to the approval of his closest friend and one whom meant more to him than anything else now that his parents were dead. _

One day the faerie prince presented the vampire childe with a single rose of the deepest violet, the everlasting color of royalty. The boy vampire had taken the gift hesitantly; knowing that to be presented with a faerie rose was a high honor indeed. The roses that grew in the faerie lands were wild and uncultivated, but docile in the hands of those who love it. It held within its petals the innate magic of the land, and could only be handled by those who lived there. 

'It doesn't matter what other people say,' the faerie prince had said when he saw the vampire's awe at being presented with such a gift; 'You are part of these lands, and a part of me. Those who wish you gone would have to wish me gone as well.' 

But even so, the rose had faded slightly in the hands of the vampire childe, sensing that he was different than its previous owner, although not different enough for the rose to wilt completely. Disappointed by this, the vampire childe asked of the faerie prince, 'Would you keep it for me, then? So I would be able to see its beauty forever- it is much too wonderful to be handled by a dark creature, and I would rather see its purity untainted by one such as myself.' 

The prince looked sad. 'It is not as pure as you think. The soils of these lands had been much tainted by the war, and what was once great and innocent is not that anymore. And I know that this rose would flourish under your care. Would you rather have it live forever in glass so that its beauty can be admired from afar?' 

Seeing such sadness emulate from the faerie prince, the vampire stepped closer and cupped the other's face in his hands, bringing beautiful eyes up to met him. 'I would be honored to accept this rose. But I fear that I would not take adequate care of it and that I would never be able to give anything as beautiful as that back.' 

'You don't have to give anything back. This is a gift from me to you, and I want you to take it.' 

The vampire childe reluctantly accepted the gift, but not before making the faerie prince agree to contain the violet rose in a glass case, one that held the name of the faerie prince- so that the world would understand the beauty and significance of this rose. The prince had been slightly upset by the idea, but finally agreed that he was happy the boy vampire had accepted his gift. 

The pale vampire strove greatly to find a gift precious enough to give to the faerie prince, but could not find anything that would meet his expectations for a gift that would befit the beautiful faerie prince. 

And within that month, the faerie prince grew deathly sick. 

  
  


***

  
  


Care of Magical Creatures was another class that the Gryffindors had with the Slytherins. 

Harry was looking around as he got outside, lagging slightly behind his two best friends, allowing them the privacy to talk to each other more intimately than they could with him around. (Not that they stopped their cooing to each other- Harry had unfortunately been caught in the middle of it before because Hermione didn't want him to feel left out, and from then on Harry felt that he had better stay away from the sappy couple whenever they started making _those_ eyes at each other.) 

It was a beautiful day, with large clouds up in the sky and a slight breeze that carried the cold wind under their thick cloaks and warned them that while it certainly looked like a summer day, it was still early in spring. The grass was green and still wet with the morning dew, giving off a wonderful scent that was purely natural and made the students much more relaxed than they had in classrooms. 

There were generally a few students milling around since class hadn't started yet, talking to each other or doing something off on their own. Harry's green eyes surveyed the scene before him, taking in the few people who were looking at him weirdly because of the change of his glasses. He already dealt with plenty of people that morning staring at him and then whispering to each other, and even a few girls come up to him to tell him that he looked great in those glasses. 

But where was Draco? The other boy was never late for class from what Harry could tell, and at the moment he was nowhere to be seen. There were groups of Slytherins crowded at the sides whispering to each other about something or the other, and groups of Gryffindors scattered around and generally making a ruckus about rumors and whatnots. 

There were subtle sounds of footsteps coming up behind him, and Harry smiled to himself before turning around, meeting the grey eyes of the boy whom he had befriended only the night before. "Hello." 

Those intense grey eyes stared at him far longer than Harry had expected, an unexplainable emotion flickering in them for just a second. He was carrying a small package in his arms, held out in front of him. Draco reached out a hand to tuck away a strand of hair that had fallen away from Harry's haphazard mop and into the glasses before Harry's eyes. Harry's breath caught. 

"Hello." Was the response that Draco gave, his voice deep with an emotion that sounded to Harry a lot like longing and sorrow. 

Having given the thought of talking with Draco so much the night before, Harry couldn't seem to find his words now that he was face to face with the other boy again. Draco's hand had lingered above his brow and Harry felt as if his voice had failed him completely, the wind caressing his hair and allowing the wayward strands to brush against the Slytherin's pale hand. 

It was as if all of a sudden the outside world had collapsed and Harry just couldn't understand why he was so… _drawn_ to the other boy like this. It wasn't so much as a physical attraction as if he already knew Draco. Like an inner voice which was asking him to talk with Draco more, to understand the other boy because their lives were going to go alongside each other soon. 

"Can I talk to you alone for a moment?" 

Hermione had said not to follow Draco anywhere alone. But there were lots of people here, so surely it would be better to talk in a more secluded place. There was still time before class started, anyway. And besides, Harry would make sure that they would be within shouting distance to the others. 

"Of course." He agreed almost instantly. 

They walked a little away from where everyone else was, just to give themselves a bit of privacy and so they could talk as they wanted to without people listening in. 

"I…" Draco was struggling to speak. It wasn't that he was nervous, but more because he didn't know how to phrase it. "Have you ever heard of faerie roses?" 

"Faerie roses?" Harry was wondering why everything nowadays seemed to revolve around faeries. "No, I haven't. I don't think we've covered that in Herbology." 

Now Draco seemed to relax a bit. He held up the glass container with the stunning violet rose inside, the bottom of the glass case intricately carved with writings that Harry couldn't understand. "That's because it's near impossible to get a hold of one. They only grow on the faerie lands, and die if handled by someone who's not had the permission to take it." 

Fascinating. There had to be some sort of magic to hold up the rose in the case like that. But Harry wasn't interested in that right now. He just didn't understand why they were talking about the rose. 

"Here." Draco was holding out the case towards him. "Please. I need… I need to test something. The rose is a good judge of character, as well. I know this seems awkward for me to present you with this, but… I need to know." 

Harry was too confused by this. The rose looked beautiful enough, but he knew better than to accept things from other people. Hermione had already lectured him on that. And the small lurch in his heart at being presented with something so beautiful had been quickly squashed as he heard the desperation in Draco's voice about needing to test something. 

He honestly didn't know Draco. But he had trusted him enough to talk alone with him, which was something that he didn't trust to do with any other Slytherin. Even so, Harry had enough bad experiences with portkeys. 

Seeing that Harry was more than skeptical and wasn't about to take the rose, Draco pressed, "It's not cursed. I've been searching for something. That's why I usually stay back and watch people. It's someone I have to find… and I need you to help me, because I think I'm closer here than I have been in my entire search." 

This went against everything that Hermione advised, but Harry found that he _trusted_ Draco. The doubts that had lingered from their first talk together were not there at all, which was stupid because Harry had only really known Draco for less than a day… 

Harry reached out. "What does it do?" 

The pale boy looked relieved. "Nothing. If it works, nothing will happen." 

"And if it doesn't?" 

Draco placed the delicate glass case into Harry's hands. "Then this rose would need a recuperation period." He joked. 

There was warmth in the glass that Harry hadn't expected. He had thought that with the chill of the morning air, the stained glass would be like ice to the touch, but instead it felt more inviting than just about anything he had felt more. There was not a hint of dark magic on it, indeed, not a hint of magic that had been casted at all. He looked up at Draco questioningly. 

Draco took a step forward, and lifted the top of the glass case off, giving Harry access to the beautiful rose inside. 

"Faerie roses, hm?" Harry murmured under his breath. 

"Yes. It is the rarest of roses, especially since there's only one in existence of this color." 

"How do you know there's only one rose of this color? Maybe whoever sold you this was lying to you, and there's thousands more out there just like this." 

Draco smiled mysteriously. "Trust me. There's nothing in this world that has this beauty." 

The tone of Draco's voice made Harry's heart start pounding, although he didn't know why. Was it because he was getting nervous about all the mystery that surrounded the other boy? The pale boy sounded so confident about what he said, and he was convinced that this rose was the most beautiful thing in the universe. 

Swallowing his nervousness, Harry reached in a hand to take out the rose, cradling it gently in its palm and reveling in the warmth that spread over him at the contact. The rose seemed to brighten in his presence, as if calling out a greeting to an old and deeply missed friend. 

Draco was watching intently, both hands holding to glass case when Harry took out the rose, cradling it as gently as possible for a human. 

"It _is_ beautiful." Harry breathed out while watching the glow of the flower. But then he lifted green eyes to watch the Slytherin, and asked, "What is it you were looking for?" 

The petals were silky soft, open in the brightest bloom, with the stem and leaves of a soft waxy material that almost made the thorns seem to disappear. Instead of the petals getting lighter as they got the center, it turned a darker shade of violet that was close to black, giving the rose a dangerous look to it. A dangerous look that was completely deceptive, as Harry could feel there was nothing dangerous about the rose. 

"I was looking for…. You." 

Harry jerked where he was placing the rose back into its case, looking up directly in Draco's grey eyes. "What…?" 

An acidic smell hit Draco's nose, and he looked downwards to see that Harry had pricked his finger on one of the thorns of the brilliant rose. The other boy hadn't even noticed, as those green eyes were so intent on finding out what Draco was thinking. The pale boy shifted the glass case to rest under one arm and used a hand to raise Harry's injured fingers to his lips, watching those green eyes all the while so he knew to stop if Harry really wanted him to. 

He kissed those fingers gently, letting the blood smear over his lips and seep into his mouth. 

_I've tasted this blood before. _

He heard Harry sharply draw in a breath as Draco's tongue swiped over those fingertips, catching more of that blood in his mouth. It was something that Draco hadn't wanted to allow himself to believe in, a feeling that had been suppressed and denied vehemently in case it wasn't true. In case it wasn't him. 

But it was. It was him, and Draco could believe again because things were finally falling into place, and he felt as if he could relax again. 

It was him. 

Having cleaned the blood off Harry's fingers, Draco looked up again to see the other boy stared at him, enraptured. 

Harry couldn't believe that he had allowed Draco to do that. He could distinctly hear behind him the start of class, and Hagrid wondering aloud where his missing students were. But that didn't matter. 

_I don't even like boys,_ Harry told himself. 

Then he reached out with both hands to pull Draco's face down to meet his, and closed his eyes as warm lips met his. 

  
  


***

  
  


_'It's a curse.' Was the only explanation for the prince's ailment. The greatest healers in the land could not find out more, and the faeries despaired at that- sending out envoys of fey folk out into the wider world in order to find anyone with information on this curse. It was the largest amount of faeries out of their kingdom in all their history, but they were desperate enough that the kingdom was nearly emptied in search for a cure for their precious prince. _

The vampire childe did not know what to do with himself, and so he took to caring for the sick prince. A year or two had passed before an envoy of Seelie faeries reappeared in the kingdom again, this time dragging with them a man- a wizard. 

After many days of torture, the wizard revealed that he had something to do with the curse. He revealed that the dark creatures had employed him to destroy the Seelie faeries, and he had taken them up on the job. 

But he had not been the one to cast the curse. 

'You will be the one to undo the curse, though!' the vampire childe had roared at him. 'You will cure my prince!' 

But the wizard had only laughed at that. 'There is no cure, dark one.' He replied evenly, as he was not at all afraid of the furious vampire. 'But I can tell you this: your precious prince will die before he comes of age, by the prick of his finger on his own heart's blood.' 

The wizard had died before revealing anything more. 

No one understood the ramifications of what the wizard had prophesized. They could not understand what he meant, only that their most beloved prince would prick his finger and die before he came of age. Any and all sharp objects in the kingdom were destroyed, and all their weapons were locked away in a deep underground room in the back of their kingdom, for they were too deeply concerned for their prince. 

The faeries learned to make do with fighting hand-to-hand or with nature's magic, as they refused to fashion more weapons for fear that what they create would be the downfall of their own kingdom. 

Being desperate, the vampire childe had written to the elvish princess, calling in on the fact that he had saved her life. He called for her to try and defeat the prophecy that the wizard had set, to heal his prince from the deathly ailment. 

  
  


***

  
  


"How is it that Harry managed to disappear from behind us?" Hermione was grumbling to herself while she looked about. She wasn't exactly nervous about Harry's disappearance because she remembered specifically talking to him about danger the night before, and they were still on Hogwarts grounds and couldn't have gotten too far. It just peeved her to realize that Draco Malfoy had also been missing right along with Harry. 

_He better have listened to me!_ she was fuming. She whacked some of the bushes before her to take out some of her anxiety. Their class that day had taken close to the Forbidden Forest, but Hermione was sure that even Harry wasn't stupid enough to just wander off in there by himself, even if he was led by Draco Malfoy. 

Especially if he were led by Draco Malfoy. 

There was something about the pale Slytherin transfer student that nagged in the back of her head. While she was glad that Harry was once again interested in someone (she blamed his lack of social knowledge with romance on Cho Chang. She had so much hopes that Cho would be able to draw Harry out of his introverted shell, but instead, she had made him withdraw to the point that he hadn't ever dated anyone after that.), she just didn't trust the Slytherin like Harry had. Maybe it was because of their general disrespect towards her since she had arrived at Hogwarts, but he was too secretive for her to trust him with her best friend. 

No, she didn't trust him with her best friend- especially with Harry. She barely trusted herself and Ron with Harry, knowing that the boy was already occupied with the thoughts of defeating the Dark Lord. She knew that he resented her for that, but she couldn't help but coddle him a little. He was just the type to make others want to coo over him. Poor Harry hated getting attention, especially the motherly and overprotective attention that the rest of his house just lavished over him. 

Hermione snickered to herself at the thought. She remembered once when she had found both Harry and Ron is sticky situations and had yelled at them for over half an hour, ending the tirade with a sonorous, 'You're both _grounded!_' 

The two of them had stared at her in disbelief. 

She chuckled. Ahh, the memories. 

But Draco Malfoy was someone that Hermione felt would change the tilt of her world. If Harry fancied him, then she would have to do everything in her power to either get them together or to resolve the situation. And she was sure that Ron would help out, despite his loud protests and dark scowls. The three of them would never be separated; not willingly, anyway. They were best friends… and Hermione hoped that they would be best friends forever. 

But maybe that was just her sentimental girl side talking. 

She pushed through some short trees and nearly gasped at the scene before her. 

She had found both Harry and Draco… arms wrapped around each other in an intimate embrace. Harry had his hands cupping Draco's face while they kissed, and Draco had one arm tight around Harry's waist, pulling the short boy to him. Under Draco's other arm was a beautiful rose in a glass case which glittered under the sunlight. 

They looked... amazing together. 

The scene was beautiful enough, as both boys were a contrast of each other. Harry's warm, sun-kissed fingers lingered on the pale skin of Draco Malfoy, his hair of darkest ebony against Draco's near white-gold. Even the scarves that the both of them wore contrasted against each other- Gryffindor and Slytherin. 

She was nearly entranced for a few moments before snapping out of it, turning red when she realized she had been staring. Hermione hurried away from the two of them, once more allowing the short trees which had once shielded them from view to fall back into place. 

Then she allowed a silly grin to fall onto her face as she walked back towards the clearing where most of the other students had given up looking for the two boys. Well… that was certainly fast! 

"Did you find them?" Ron asked her when she sat next to him, worry evident in his voice. 

"Yes." Hermione smiled. "Don't worry. He's fine." 

  
  


***

  
  


Harry slowly opened his eyes again, feeling his cheeks warm with the slow breathing from Draco's mouth. He remembered his first kiss with Cho… it had been nothing at all like this one, with its warm lips and firm contact that send electric waves down his back. Was this was a kiss was supposed to be like? So warm and familiar? 

The wind was blowing against his back, reminding him that he was outside, perhaps doing something that had been interrupted by the breathtaking kiss. How did he get there again? He couldn't seem to think very well with the haze that surrounded his mind. It had something to do with following Draco when he wasn't supposed to, which Hermione had warned him again. But then, the pale haired boy had seemed so familiar… almost as if Harry had known him all his life, or perhaps even longer than that. 

The arm that was encircled around him was warm and supportive, something that Harry rarely had in his life, and cherished greatly. No one had ever held him like that before, Harry was sure. And he knew that he liked the feeling of protectiveness very much, the feeling of not wanting to let go and not wanting for a single moment to end. 

He could feel the warm hand pressed against his back, the cool skin under his fingertips as Draco opened his eyes as well, gazing down at him with an _expression Harry had never seen directed at him before. All he could make out of it was the warmth and tenderness that surprised him with its intensity, and. .. well… it scared Harry how _old_ those eyes looked at that moment. 

Pale fingers came up to his own face, that wonderful gaze changing just slightly to wonder as those fingers lifted the tinted glasses that he had on, the black frames that hid his eyes from the rest of the world. Harry blinked at the sudden brightness that assaulted his pupils, shaking his head slightly to get himself used to the bright sunlight of the springtime. 

"It _is_ you…" was the awestruck voice. "I've been searching for you for so long…" 

"How is it that you were searching for me?" Harry questioned. "Why were you searching for me?" 

It was that question that broke Draco out of his supposed reverie. The pale Slytherin snapped out of it, and seemed to finally hit reality again. He startled, but then stared at Harry like a miracle had happened before his eyes. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Draco finally smiled. "After dinner. Come to the Astronomy Tower. I'll explain everything to you then." 

  
  


continued in chapter 5 

_Come into these arms again  
And lay your body down   
The rhythm of this trembling heart  
Is beating like a drum _

It beats for you - It bleeds for you  
It knows not how it sounds  
For it is the drum of drums  
It is the song of songs... 

Once I had the rarest rose  
That ever deigned to bloom.  
Cruel winter chilled the bud   
And stole my flower too soon. 

Oh loneliness - oh hopelessness  
To search the ends of time  
For there is in all the world  
No greater love than mine. 

Love, oh love, oh love...   
Still falls the rain... (still falls the rain)   
Love, oh love, oh, love...   
Still falls the night...   
Love, oh love, oh love...  
Be mine forever.... (be mine forever)  
Love, oh love, oh love.... 

Let me be the only one   
To keep you from the cold   
Now the floor of heaven's lain  
With stars of brightest gold 

They shine for you - they shine for you   
They burn for all to see   
Come into these arms again  
And set this spirit free 

-_"Love Song for a Vampire"_ by Annie Lennox 

  
  


**Authoress' Notes:** I love this song. I adore this song, and I found it only because my best friend nagged at me to find it after she read this story. It's _perfect_ for this story, and I found it last Sunday. This is now the official song for this story. O_O You guys have GOT to hear this song... I nearly cried when I first heard it while reading the lyrics. It's the song in the end of _Dracula_, which is a movie I love love love! 

Right. The rose. Hopefully, it's not what you guys were expecting. Purple for royalty, and because it's unique. ^_^ I'm sorry that this chapter was so short- I'll try to make up for it by making the next chapter longer! It's just that it was the perfect place to cut off the chapter and I really didn't have anything else to write in chapter 4. Is this finally starting to sound like _Sleeping Beauty_? XDD 


	5. And Several Prophecies Set in Stone

Unbeta'd!

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
_ The elvish princess arrived within a few days, summoned by the vampire childe to help the faerie prince. The fey folk had rested their hopes on her, as they were nearly out of options as for what to do for their prince. The princess was their last hope, and they could only pray that she would be able to dispel the prophecy that had been made by the wizard. _

But when she had arrived, the elvish princess soon realized that there was little that she could do. Prophecies could never be unmade- they had to be fulfilled above all else. Prophecies made by humans were particularly potent; she tried to explain to the disbelieving faeries. What had been predicted would come to pass no matter what precautions had been taken. 

'I refuse to accept that!' the vampire childe cried hysterically. 'There has to be something that you can do for him- can the magic of the elves not overpower those of a simple wizard's?' 

'Not a simple wizard.' The elvish princess said. 'It was a very powerful dark wizard. And the spell was only reinforced when the prophecy was made by another wizard with his dying breath. This is magic that should not be invoked or transfigured.' 

'Is there nothing you could do?' the faeries asked her. 'To change the outcome of our prince's fate?' 

She pondered that question for many long minutes, trying to come up with a solution that would help the fey kind which had been so kind to her before. She had a soft spot for the faerie prince, remembering his innocent questions about the wider world that he had asked her during her stay in the kingdom. She also understood that it was partially because of her that the dark creatures had gone after the Sidhe faeries in the first place. "I can not change the fate of your prince.' She phrased quietly. 'But I can guarantee his health until it is time for the curse to take action. By then, I hope to have come up with a solution to this dilemma." 

And so with her elvish magic, the princess was able to heal the faerie prince from his current sickness, allowing him to interact with his people once again without fearing for his own life. With much pleading from the vampire childe, the princess stayed in the faerie kingdom- keeping a close watch over the prince. 

Two dark wizards, a curse to end the faerie prince's life, and a prophecy that could not be undone. The elvish princess did not know what to make of what was happening, the only conclusion she was able to make being the death of the faerie prince. And with the death of the faerie prince would come the weakening of the Seelie faeries and all Sidhe faeries in general if the last of the royal bloodline died out. Eventually, it would mean the extinction of the Sidhe faeries. 

It was not an acceptable prediction for her. She would come up with something to alter that future she had seen. 

Meanwhile, the vampire childe was searching for his own answers. Ever since the prince had gotten sick, he had too much time to think. What if the friend closest to his heart died? It was not a hypothetical question anymore, as everyone was now certain that the faerie prince, last of the royal Seelie bloodline, would die. And with the gift of the violet rose had been something that roused an ambiguous feeling within him. On one hand, he felt that it wasn't right. The faerie prince being the last of the royal bloodline meant that a marriage between faerie nobility was unavoidable. But on the other hand, the boy vampire was ecstatic about the prince's deep feelings towards him. A faerie rose meant a lifelong relationship, be it friend or lover. 

The vampire childe was hoping for the latter, although he denied it even to himself. 

The prophecy changed everything, though. While the vampire could have waited nearly forever with the faerie prince, and even seen his best friend through a prestigious marriage with another faerie, things were different now. The faerie prince could not wait the forever that the vampire childe could anymore. 

The faerie prince had been so preoccupied with his people that it gave the vampire childe time to observe the bright-eyed faerie whom had been so close to his heart for as long as they had known each other. It wasn't hard to figure out that the vampire childe lived for the musical laughter and the bright smiles from the faerie prince that came all too seldom. With decades to observe and fight with his dearest friend, the vampire childe knew how the faerie prince moved in all aspects. Their motions were fluid together, they moved effortlessly without words, and simply knew where the other was without thinking. 

But did that merit love? 

  
  


***

  
  


The rest of the day was a blur to Harry. He carefully dodged Ron's questions about where he had been at the beginning of the Care of Magical Creatures class, and decidedly tried not to look into Hermione's smirking face. It wasn't hard to tell that she knew exactly what had happened to him that day, although she wasn't pressing him for details. 

At least, not at the moment. 

Classes passed by quickly and Harry soon found himself picking at his plate during dinner, willing time to go faster so that the food would just disappear from his plate somehow without him having to eat it. 

Should he just head to the Astronomy Tower? No… that would make him seem too eager. Being so early would be ridiculous, since he was sure that Draco wouldn't be there until well after dinner anyway. The blonde Slytherin was sitting calmly at his own house table, also barely picking at his food. But he seemed so much more composed than Harry felt, and the Gryffindor resisted the urge to scowl at the thought that he was so anxious. 

"Aren't you going to eat that, mate?" Ron was asking from his left, leaning over his plate. 

Harry felt his stomach do another flip and lay his fork down, disgusted at himself. "No, you can have it. I don't think I'll be able to eat anything else at the moment." 

"But you've barely eaten anything!" Hermione protested from across the table, eyeing him warily. 

"I'm not feeling hungry." 

His stomach then decided to growl in protest, clearly stating that _yes_, he was hungry. 

Hermione gave him a pointed look. 

Harry shrugged. He just didn't have an appetite at the moment, which was all. The smells of warm food might have made him hungry, but he just really didn't feel like eating. He didn't want to eat. With the butterflies fluttering around his stomach, Harry doubted that he could really keep the food down for long anyway. 

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Draco got up and excused himself from the Slytherin table, making his way out of the Great Hall. Well, at least he wasn't the only one who wasn't hungry. Should he mention that to Hermione? Or would she just take that as him observing Draco too much? 

"I, uh…" he dropped his napkin onto the table. "I think I'll turn in a little early. I might have a bit of homework that I still need to finish." 

Ron gave him a look to inform him that it was the lamest excuse that he had ever heard, and that the redhead didn't believe him for a single moment. Hermione also gave him another 'look', but surprisingly, didn't protest against what Harry had said. 

"Just make sure that you're done with the essay for Charms before you turn in for the night." Hermione reminded him. 

Ah, crap. That stupid essay was due tomorrow! 

"Eh…" Harry tried desperately to think up a way to both do his essay and talk to Draco for as long as he needed that night. In any other circumstances, he would have just done the essay the next morning before class, but this essay was to be three foot long. And he hadn't even started researching for it! "I think I'll be in the library, then." He tried to excuse himself. 

He got up and left before anyone else could either file a protest against him or remind him of something else. He really didn't want to know. 

Harry made a dash towards the Astronomy Tower, his stomach doing flip flops and making him extremely glad that he hadn't eaten anything for dinner. He doubted he would be feeling well at all if he had. 

Draco had been searching for him. Harry had not let the thought wander around in his head for the day; for he knew that the curiosity would drive him crazy. Why was Draco searching for him? Was it because he was the Boy-Who-Lived? Or was it something else entirely? There were countless possibilities that were jumping around in his brain, from an idea that Draco's parents knew his mother or father, to stupid ideas that they were meant to be together. 

But what was he supposed to think when the Slytherin declared that Harry was the one he was searching for right after their first kiss? 

Harry's heart constricted as he made his way up the stairs of the tower. Their first kiss. It was the first kiss that Harry ever had with another boy, and the second kiss he had ever experienced (the first being with Cho in fifth year). It had been the type of kiss that he had only read about in novels that he had been forced to read by Lavender when the girl finally caught him alone. 

Arg! Why was he seeking out Draco like this, anyway? Another thought that fluttered in his mind briefly before going away was that Draco had drugged him- maybe gave him a love potion or a befuddlement potion at least. Maybe the blonde Slytherin had hit him with an Enamorement charm (did such a spell even exist?), or something like that. 

But it didn't matter if anything like that had happened. Harry wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to see the age-old eyes of Draco's again, wanted to know why the pale boy was searching for him. There were so many things that he wanted to know, so many questions that were unspoken. 

Harry pushed against the door at the top of the stairs, and climbed his way onto the top of the tower, the cold night wind nearly sweeping him away as he set foot on the roof. 

A warm hand grabbed at his arm, moving to steady him. 

"Be careful there. The winds are a sign of an oncoming storm tomorrow." Was the quiet voice of Draco Malfoy that drifted by him. Harry tilted his head to the right to find himself inches away from the Slytherin's face, those intense grey eyes catching his own without much effort. Harry turned bright red. 

"I… I'll remember that." 

Draco's eyes scanned over Harry's face again, as if seeing something that wasn't there. Those old, grey eyes took a glazed look into them before Harry shivered slightly- although he wasn't too sure if it was because of the strong winds, or because of Draco's gaze. A few seconds later, a heavier over-robe was tossed over Harry's light school robes. The smaller boy startled. 

"Wouldn't want you to get sick." Draco tried to explain rather sheepishly. 

Harry felt the tug on his lips as he saw the blonde turning his head away, trying to hide the uncomfortable look. But even with the oncoming smile, he couldn't hide the small bout of irritation he felt at being coddled like that. Was this because he was smaller? Just because he was shorter than most people didn't mean that he was more delicate! 

Damn it, he was as tough and sturdy as the next person- more so, in fact! Considering that he had faced down the Dark Lord so many times and lived… 

Harry tried to shove that thought away. It didn't do to think like that; like he was invincible and responsible for the thorn in the Dark Lord's side. The reason he was still alive was due to all those people who protected him. 

"I'm not going to get sick over weather like this." Harry said plaintively, trying to shrug off the robe. He had definitely faced weather both colder and hotter than the weather he was currently out in, back in the days back with the Dursleys. It was Draco who looked much too pale to be healthy, and looked like he was about to be blown over. "You're hardly wearing any more than I am- you need the robe more." 

Draco placed both hands on Harry's shoulders to tug the robe tighter around the small boy. 

"I don't get sick." 

A particularly strong gust of wind blew over them, and Harry winced slightly at the air that got behind his darkened glasses. Seeing that wince, Draco held out a hand to gently take off the green-tinted spectacles, watching as Harry closed his eyes to allow the blonde Slytherin to do as he liked with the article of eyewear. 

Draco used his free hand to trace a finger down Harry's smooth cheek, watching intently as those brilliant green eyes started to open again. "Beautiful…" he breathed lightly. "Eyes like Emerald's…. but then, that's who you are." 

Harry felt his heart speed up with the gentle touch, both of his hands involuntarily coming up to clutch at the pale hand that was resting on his cheek, not wanting to loose the touch. Why was he being so sentimental about this? Why did he need this touch so much? 

"Who are you, really?" Harry blurted out, leaning into the touch that Draco offered. The dark haired boy wanted to be cautious, really… but it was so hard to do so when Draco was this close, when the blonde boy just radiated a charm that was irresistible to Harry. It was something that spoke of familiarity and comfort, since just Draco's aura was able to calm Harry down. 

A small smile appeared on the corner of Draco's lips, and despite protests from Harry, the pale boy drew his hand back and stuffed them into his pockets, as if unable to touch the Gryffindor now. His manners made Harry want to reach out for the boy, want to bring comfort to someone whom he barely knew. 

"I'm Draco Malfoy, of course." He replied amiably. "It's just that there are some things about me that most of the students don't know. No doubt there are things about everyone that no one knows." The blonde took a deep breath; why was he trying to put it off? "But I promised to explain things to you this afternoon, because… you're an important part of my life." 

Harry cocked his head with curiosity, urging him to continue. 

"To start off… I'm a vampire." 

  
  


***

  
  


Luna startled out of her reading when the flames in her fireplace burst and sparked, revealing a head that she only knew too well. She placed her book down on the desk gently, a smile covering her face as she stood from where she had previously been sitting. "Tonks!" she exclaimed, always happy to see her friend. "You called!" 

But the face in the fire was pale and pinched, hardly the bearer of good news. One could see even through the fire how pink the hair was, but the expression on her face indicated that Nymphadora Tonks was not as joyful as her hair might suggest at the moment. 

"We have a problem." She stated abruptly when Luna finally got close enough to the fireplace so she could communicate properly. 

The elvish princess's expression sobered quickly. "What is it? Has there been an intruder to the Havens? Or one in the faerie realm?" 

Tonks shook her head. "There's nothing wrong in the Havens, milady. But the faerie realm… well, you'd have to see it for yourself to understand my urgency in asking you to come home." 

"Can't it wait another night?" Luna asked. "My scheduled time for departure in the wizarding world is tomorrow, and it would raise questions for me to leave so abruptly in the night." 

"Perhaps you can tell them that you have an emergency back home?" Tonks tried to reason. 

"But then they would inquire as to the emergency." Luna explained. "Humans. They never know when help is certainly not needed from them. Some might mean well, but there are certainly those who have too much information on their hands." 

She was, of course, referring to the Ministry of Magic and their catalogue of prophecies. It was dangerous to leave so many predictions of the future unattended like that! If someone broke into the Department of Mysteries with a way to listen to all those prophecies, they would know the outcome of many situations they are not included in. And although those prophecies could not be changed, there was no telling what havoc would be caused in effort to reverse or dispel what had been predicted. 

Luna knew that only too well. There was no way to prevent a prophecy from happening. 

"The invisibility spell," Tonks tried to plead, "The one that was placed over the faerie kingdom so that none could see its lands- it is fading, milady. With the Dark Lord of the Wizards searching for the magic of this land, it's only a matter of time now for him to find the Throne." 

The faerie throne. One that could grant the powers of nature to whomever was able to handle that magic. It would easily have killed off a human, but the Dark Lord had not been alive for so long without a sinister edge to him. Years, no, _decades_, of alterations on his body made Lord Voldemort something that was not human. Something that might not only survive the power of the throne, but could wield its power to an extent that his reign would go unchallenged. 

"How quickly is it fading?" 

"Too quick, milady. Already you can see the outlines of the castle walls. It will not be long before the Dark Lord's spells finds the vicinity of the royal castle, and kill all that lay within its walls." 

Luna nodded distractedly. A whisper in her mind that sounded surprisingly like Sybil advised her against leaving that night- that would be ensnarled in a web far too complicated for elves to be involved in. 

But if she did get ensnarled, Luna reasoned to herself, it would only be finishing what she had started. After all, she was the one who started the whole mess, and she was the one who set the circumstances up. It would be more than fitting that she be there in the end to see her story through. 

"I'll be there in half a candle mark." 

  
  


***

  
  


The two of them had settled neatly into a small niche at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Although Draco usually detested open spaces, he did like want anyone listening in on him, and the fast winds made sure to dispel any words that might be overheard. Despite the inconvenience such a location was, it was the perfect area for both the privacy he needed, and the assurance that no one else would venture there. 

Who else would be such an idiot to be out in a high area when it looked about the rain? 

Besides himself, of course, Draco reasoned lightly. It wasn't like he would be likely to catch cold, seeing as he had died many hundreds of years ago. Vampires were immune to most illnesses and ailments that plagued living creatures. They just had to ensure that they fed on healthy prey, so that the blood they drink is healthy and strong. 

Diseased blood could lead to symptoms of the disease appearing in the vampire individual. Draco had the unfortunate incident of feeding off a dying human once, and had been sick for a week afterwards. 

"Why are you here?" Harry was asking from the spot next to him, bright green eyes focused in the evening light. 

The ebony haired Gryffindor had, surprisingly, not freaked out when Draco confessed his nature. Instead, Harry had been the one to surprise Draco when he had sat down next to the boy after that confession, when most would be running the opposite direction. 

But then, Emerald had always been special like that. Never understanding that vampires were dangerous… that not all people in the world were kind and loving… 

The two boys had settled close to each other for warmth, Draco leaning over the smaller boy in order to provide as much heat as he dared without purposely intruding on Harry's personal space. Draco had wanted to explain everything to Harry, wanted to start in the beginning and tell the Gryffindor all about his search, all about the promise that he had made. 

But he found it harder than he thought- and had waited for Harry to ask, instead. 

Had the smaller boy been a muggle, Draco would have started with a simple, 'Do you believe in magic?' question. He even rehearsed it in his head, about charming his mate with the splendors of magic and mythical creatures. 

But from what Draco had read: Harry Potter was as far from a muggle as it got. In fact, he had heard from the whispers of the school that Harry Potter was perhaps one of the most powerful wizards to be born after the time of Dumbledore. He found out that the boy was on par with, if not more powerful than, the Dark Lord Voldemort. 

That certainly made it a bit more difficult for him. 

"I'm here," Draco tried to explain, stretching out his long legs in front of himself and trying to relax against the cold stone walls, "because of a promise I made to someone I loved dearly a hundred years ago." 

"Another vampire?" Harry ventured a guess. 

"No." Draco's eyes clouded over for a moment when he turned to look at Harry again. "What do you know of prophecies, Harry?" 

It was a question that Harry hadn't expected, and so the dark haired boy squirmed slightly from where he was sitting, not wanting to seem uncomfortable with the subject but not able to act nonchalant about it either. Harry remembered the events in fifth year clearly in his mind: Voldemort's attempts to get the prophecy at the Ministry of Magic, the pseudo vision that he had implanted in Harry's mind about his godfather being captured, and the fight in the Department of Mysteries. 

He remembered the prophecy that he had seen in Headmaster Dumbledore's office, about how either he or the Dark Lord would have to die because they could not coexist with each other. 

"I know enough about them." Harry said with unease. "More than I wanted to know." 

Draco gave him a careful look before Harry shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to talk about it. 

"A long time ago," the blonde Slytherin said, thinking over his words carefully. "Someone very dear to me… was prophesized to die. The first thing that people learn about prophecies, of course, is that there is no way out of them. But even so, a person fights against their destiny with all the strength they possess. They fight because they always want a choice, because they don't want to give in to the inevitable." 

Harry watched the Slytherin closely, questions jumping at the tip of his tongue, but not saying a word. 

"I fought because I didn't want him to die. Even though I didn't know it at the time, my heart was telling me that I could not bear to see that shining soul disappear into oblivion. He had such a kind soul, a beautiful and inquisitive spirit that could not be diminished even through the darkness of his own despair. Emerald had been my closest friend." 

"His name was Emerald?" Harry asked. 

"His name was long and difficult to pronounce." Draco corrected. "Not to mention the fact that his culture believed that to know someone's true name was to have power over them, so true names were never spoken unless a power was to be invoked. But one of his names had been for his eyes, and so he was called Emerald: for the eyes that shone like no other." 

Harry was starting to get the sneaky suspicion that Draco had sought him out because his eyes were such an unusual bright green. 

"That's one thing about him that was so easily identified. His parents had been cursed to never conceive before he was born, so he was a miracle child that was born with eyes the color of the curse that had been cast upon his parents. A curse that would have killed all his parents' children, had he not been conceived before the curse could take affect." 

_A killing curse,_ Harry thought bitterly. _It would figure that green would stand for death once again._

Draco shifted slightly to take out something that he had placed in his pockets, a faded paper with even more faded ink smeared onto its surface. Harry looked over to see pale fingers lightly skimming over the messy letters that spelled out, 'Remember me' onto its surface. "He… was very special. I should have known that you would be just as special. One of my last attempts to prevent his death was to contact an old friend of mine- an elvish princess by the name of Luna Lovegood. She couldn't dispel the prophecy even with his elven magics." 

Harry took in a breath in recognition. "The elf that came to our Defense class!" his remarkable eyes widened. "So she _did_ know you!" 

Draco's lips quirked into a smile. "Yes, she did, considering that I saved her from dark creatures long, long ago." 

"She talked about knowing the vampire whom had been the lover of the faerie prince…" Harry was slowly starting to figure things out for himself, now having been given enough pieces of the puzzle that had held him captivated for so long. He had been intrigued by the faerie rose that the Slytherin was so sure was real. Now he knew it was most likely because Draco had been the rose in the faerie realm, a location which had disappeared after all the faeries disappeared. Luna Lovegood had glanced at Draco Malfoy when she had been telling her tale of love and woe, and Harry had nearly convinced himself that it was only his imagination when Draco had given her a taunt nod. 

Draco stayed quiet to allow Harry his thoughts. 

"You… you were the one in love with the faerie prince, who had been prophesized to die a hundred years ago. His parents must have been the king and queen who were cursed to be barren, although nothing was said in the history books about unusual eyes. But… the elvish princess had talked about how the faeries weren't dead, only asleep- and waiting for their prince to be reborn." 

Finally having it all figured out, Harry focused on Draco once again. The vampire was impressed with the speed and deduction that Harry had processed all this information (no doubt due to hanging around Hermione way too much) and had already been gazing back at him pleasantly. 

"You think I'm the faerie prince reborn!" Harry made it sound more in an accusation than a revelation. Green eyes that had once been so very bright were not shadowed, struggling to reveal all the emotions behind the misty gaze. Harry shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts. "But you're wrong. You think that I'm your lover reborn again…" 

"You _are_ the faerie prince, Harry." Draco was unsure whether he should press the issue or give the small boy time to digest it, but followed his instincts telling him to enforce the idea. "Faerie roses are known to wither away should they be placed in the care of someone other than faeries and their most trusted. The violet symbolized royalty- symbolized the blood of the faerie prince. And your eyes… no one else in the world would have eyes like that. Eyes that shine with that same light that I saw a hundred years ago." 

Harry looked away. "I inherited my eyes from my mother- I have the same eyes as her." 

"Maybe a few years ago you did. But your eyes have been getting brighter… are they more sensitive to light now? Are you entranced with the colors that you see when your view becomes unobstructed?" 

Harry wanted to deny it. He wanted to deny the vision problems that he had the last few days. But it was hard to do so with his tinted glasses in Draco's hands, the proof that his eyesight had certainly changed. 

He was not anyone special, though, Harry thought to himself repeatedly. He was just a boy who had gotten lucky when the Dark Lord attacked. He was just the boy who continually got lucky. 

"I made a promise to Emerald that I would be the one to find him so long ago." Draco was saying. "Luna turned that promise into a prophecy of its own. Everything has to do with promises… the promise that the fey people made to their king and queen to protect their prince, the promise that I made to find Emerald when he was reborn. All those promises were turned into a prophecy by Luna. And it's that prophecy that led me to you." 

"I don't understand." Harry protested, his mind spinning from all this information. He already had one prophecy concerning him… he didn't want another one! 

"I didn't understand until now, either." Draco confessed. _Remember me._ He hadn't known what that meant until now; remember Emerald. Remember emerald… eyes. "But seeing you now… I think I'm beginning to understand." 

  
  


continued in chapter 6

**Authoress' Notes:** @_@ Writing this chapter was like extracting teeth for some reason. It just didn't want to come out. ^^;; But this story finally has a main plot! It's had a subplot since the very first chapter, but now you see that Voldemort has something to do with the plot! XD Things are slowly starting to come together! I hope people understood what Draco was saying in this chapter. If not, I'll try to straighten things out in the next few chapters. There's actually a lot more to it than either Draco or Harry knew- but both of them have half of the information, not that Harry knows he has half of the story. 

Responses to reviews for chapters 3 and 4 are on my LiveJournal. ^^;; Sorry about getting them out late last time! Just as a reminder to those who ask- I update every Friday or Saturday. I should get updates out by Friday, but if for some reason I'm delayed in some aspect, I'll try and get them out on Saturday. I should tell you guys if I'm not updating on some week. 


	6. That Led to the Faerie Prince's Death,

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard* 

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

Great thanks to my beta, Mednar! *beams* 

  
  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera 

  
  
_ As the prince's coming of age approached, the faeries grew increasingly alarmed. The vampire childe could do nothing but wait for his elvish friend to figure out a solution to the curse that had been inflicted on the faerie prince. He grew more agitated as time passed, as the prince continued to pay no special attention to him. What did that mean? Did it mean that the prince wanted to distance himself from the vampire childe? Did it mean that the boy vampire had been wrong in his assumptions? _

It took a while for the vampire childe to gather his courage so that he could confront the faerie prince about the feelings that he had harbored for so long. It had been on a sunny, clear day that had made the vampire feel more confident so he could corner the beautiful and much loved faerie prince and pull him out into the faerie garden. 

It was there, underneath the clear skies and fluttering of small winged animals, that the vampire childe declared that he loved the faerie prince, and offered his heart in a way that he had never done before. 

The vampire childe waited on bated breath to hear the prince's response, but the prince only smiled a melancholy smile and reached up to cup the boy vampire's face. 

'Are you sure about that?' the faerie prince asked. 'You should not love me, for I have been prophesized to die. You know the faerie customs- we can only fall in love once in our lifetime.' 

'And vampires have but one mate all their lives.' The childe responded. 'I am sure of my love… and I will not allow you to leave me so.' 

It was at that response that the faerie prince pulled the vampire childe down for their first kiss, sweet and unhurried. After they parted, the prince declared his own love, stating that he had been in love for a very long time… and had offered the faerie rose as a symbol of his love. 

They announced their betrothal that night, but no one seemed especially surprised. In fact, many of the faeries in court had to hide a small smile at how long it took for their prince and the vampire childe to realize what the other felt. 

It was the day before the prince's coming of age when the elvish princess pulled the faerie prince aside for an entire day to discuss with him an idea that she had formulated. Everyone waited with breathless anticipation for them to appear again, and when they did- it was the elvish princess who seemed unsettled, while the faerie prince was the picture of perfect composure. They assured the populace that yes- they had a plan, and not to panic even when the worst happens, for things were not always as they seemed. 

'Then you have a plan to prevent the curse from taking your life?' the vampire childe asked anxiously, needing to hear a reassurance from the calm prince that their love would not fail when it was still so new. 

'No,' the prince admitted with great reluctance. 'But don't worry- I'm not ready to let you go.' A smooth, tanned hand came to rest on the pale cheek of the vampire childe. Bright eyes were intense with the seriousness of the moment. 'No matter what happens, you were the one who found me on the day I got lost in the forest. You found my heart again after the war, battered as it was. Find me again, my love.' 

The vampire childe could not comprehend what the faerie prince had said, but his question was lost when the prince pulled him into a passionate kiss, using that distraction to press a small scrap of parchment into the boy vampire's palm. 

The next morning, a servant was the first to find the prince, lying still on the floor, with a beautiful faerie rose in one hand. Violet petals lay scattered on the ground next to him, and the thorns were wet with blood. 

  
  


*** 

It was around midnight that night when Harry started regretting not having eaten dinner in his haste and nervousness about Draco's talk. He threw the thick blankets over his head and groaned into the pillow, trying to ignoring the grumbling of his stomach. It was still cold enough at night that Harry didn't want to leave his warm bed to grab a cold robe and have his feet on the freezing floor. It wasn't laziness per say… only that he didn't like being cold. 

He didn't want to leave his bed, even though the calls of the food down in the kitchens were sounding ever more tempting. Getting food meant that he would first have to get to the kitchens. And in order to do that, he would have to get out of bed, sneak down to the common room, and then get out undetected. 

His stomach growled angrily. 

Harry finally relented to the insistent gnawing of his stomach, pushing himself up from his bed by his arms and grumbling quietly to himself the entire time. Damn insomnia, anyway. If he could just go to sleep, then he wouldn't feel the hunger until morning, when he could just go to breakfast with everyone else. 

Why couldn't he sleep? Why did his mind keep going back to Draco smiling at him brilliantly, as if he were the only thing important in the universe? 

Harry knew why. Draco's smile was beautiful. It would have made anyone delirious with happiness if the smile were directed at them. But that wonderful smile had not been directed at Harry, despite where he had stood in accordance. It had been directed at who Draco _thought_ he was. It was directed at someone who had died a hundred years ago, to someone who Harry was _not_.

And for a reason unknown to him, Harry's heart ached. 

But he could also feel the distant anger that had been a part of him since the end of the Triwizard tournament. A feeling deep inside himself that was furious at Draco, that never wanted to see the other boy again and was whispering for him to break Draco's heart. The pale Slytherin (a vampire, Harry reminded himself) had never liked Harry anyway. That incredible kiss had been meant for Emerald… not Harry. 

Draco had told him the story of Emerald, of the beautiful fey prince who had been so sweet-hearted and kind. The more Draco had said about Emerald, the more Harry realized that he wasn't who Draco was looking for. The more he came to realize that, the more Harry hated the faerie prince. 

That adoration the Slytherin gazed at him with; the gentle and reverent touches on Harry's face… they were all nothing more than the delusions of someone who had been driven mad with lost love. 

And Harry felt bitter for it. 

Drawing back his bed curtains slowly, Harry was surprised to see Ron still awake on his bed, the light on and with several parchments out, no doubt trying to finish some last minute homework. 

The youngest Weasley boy looked up when he heard the soft rustling of the bed curtains, and blinked when he saw Harry half ready to step out of bed. 

"What are you still doing up?" Ron asked plaintively. "It's past midnight, Harry." 

Gah. Ron sounded like Hermione in one of her 'mother-mode' moments. 

"I finally got hungry again." Harry explained. "And I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd get something to eat from the kitchens." 

Ron rolled over from the uncomfortable position he was in while doing homework, and stretched out over his covers, nearly knocking over the inkwell with his arms. "You mind if I join you? Think I'll get something to drink as well." 

Harry shrugged, and waited patiently while Ron tossed his rolls of parchment onto a nearby table, not even bothering to organize it. The redhead was going to have a lot of trouble figuring out which roll contained which essay tomorrow, but Harry didn't feel like mentioning it. 

The two of them made their way down the kitchens, where they were greeted enthusiastically by several house elves that were still on duty. The elves made sure that they were comfortably seated and had plenty of food before they left the two boys alone. Harry dug in happily, wondering why he felt so hungry now, when his stomach had finally stopped growling. 

"You done with the essay for Transfiguration yet?" 

The question caught him off guard, and Harry guiltily put down his fork. He had once again forgotten about that essay, especially with all the things that had been going on in his mind after his talk with Draco. 

Ron noticed the action easily, and grinned around the midnight snack that he had picked. "I take it that you didn't do it?" 

"I forgot all about it," Harry admitted. 

"Don't worry," Ron replied. "Hermione makes everything seem so much more important than it is when it comes to schoolwork. It's really easy and won't take but a few minutes. I doubt that it would be very hard for you." 

That was how it had been for the last few years. While Hermione still excelled in schoolwork far above her two friends, Harry had finally taken the time to study a little, and found that things were actually pretty easy when you read through the books. He relied on Hermione for everything he couldn't get from the books (sometimes, Harry swore, their school books weren't written in English. It was like reading something that Professor Snape wrote- biting and thoroughly uninteresting.). Almost immediately, he had seen an improvement in his marks. 

"I'll probably have to do it in the morning," Harry mused to himself. "I Certainly don't want to do anything but sleep after this." 

Ron shook his head with amusement. "You might have gotten it done if you hadn't been distracted today. Where were you during Care of Magical Creatures, anyway? Hermione wouldn't let me ask you that this entire day." 

Hermione had interfered for him? Why would she do that, though? Wouldn't she be just as curious as Ron, unless she had actually seen….? 

Harry turned a faint red, and tried to hide his face under the long bangs, tilting his head towards his plate to try and avoid Ron's eyes. "Ehh… I was talking to someone," He said evasively. 

"Draco?" 

_What?!_

Ron's face split into a large grin as he saw Harry's surprise. "It's not that hard to figure out, mate- especially since he was the other person who had been missing. Not that Hagrid made too much of a fuss about it after the two of you came back. What were the two of you talking about? Should I be worried?" Ron looked a bit like Fred and George at that moment, with a devious smile on his face. 

"Worried?" Harry asked. "Why should you be worried?" 

"Don't think that I hadn't noticed that you were gone after dinner. Hermione may not have questioned it, but you certainly weren't in the library doing homework. And you weren't in the Gryffindor tower, either- so I figured that you were off somewhere… most likely with Draco." 

Damn it. When had Ron gotten so intuitive? 

"So?" Ron pressed after a minute of silence on Harry's part. "Have the two of you been talking?" 

"Why would you want to know?" Harry questioned. 

"Because I want to know if I should be worried that a Slytherin is trying to seduce you to the dark side." Ron replied with a smile. He was poking a fork at Harry's direction and hunched over across the small table in the kitchen. 

It had been a running joke since sixth year that Voldemort had finally stopped trying to seduce Harry over to the 'dark side'. It didn't help that Ron had finally watched Star Wars that year (courtesy of Dean) and had jokingly said that perhaps the Dark Lord was actually Harry's real father. The joke had stuck with the other boys, and soon everyone was betting on whether Harry was in some way related to Voldemort- be it father, uncle, or distant cousin. 

"He didn't say anything about that," Harry said. "We just… talked." 

"Talked?" Ron prompted. 

Harry finally set down his fork, his hunger suddenly forgotten again. "He thinks I'm something I'm not," He admitted. 

Ron's expression sobered. "Is it something about being The Boy-Who-Lived?" 

"Surprisingly, no." It was common enough for people to like Harry for being the one who had defeated the Dark Lord so many times. Although no one had actively approached Harry about his title, the trio had dealt with the Creevy brothers long enough to understand that there were people who liked Harry's celebrity status. But Draco had not even lingered on Harry being the mortal enemy of Lord Voldemort. "He just thinks that I'm someone else." 

"It's pretty hard to mistake you as anyone other than Harry Potter." Ron said, clearly not believing his best friend. "I know there's more to it than that." 

It wouldn't do to reveal Draco's status as a vampire, since it was a confidence that wasn't Harry's to break. But at the same time, he almost never kept anything from Ron and Hermione. Even with the prophecy at the end of fifth year, he had confided the secret to them during the summer. Harry didn't like keeping information from them. 

"You can't tell anyone," Harry started, "And Dumbledore has already approved him to be here… but Draco's a vampire. He wouldn't harm anyone at school! It just… he's here because he's looking for someone. It has something to do with a promise that he made. He thinks that I'm the person he's been looking for." 

Ron didn't react as much to Draco being a vampire as he did to Draco thinking that Harry was involved in a situation with a vampire. Perhaps it was because they knew Remus Lupin, who was a werewolf that had been their best Defense Against Dark Arts teacher so far. They had learned back in third year not to be biased against Dark Creatures. 

"What kind of promise did he make?" Ron was suspicious that perhaps the Slytherin (who was a vampire!) had promised the Dark Lord or something like it to kill Harry Potter, and had finally found his victim. 

Harry chuckled humorlessly. "It has something to do with a prophecy… now that I think about it, it sounds more like a romantic fairy tale." 

Ron gazed at his friend for just a moment before figuring out what was bothering the dark haired boy. "You're unhappy because he took an interest in you because he thought you were the person he was looking for… and not because you're… you." 

"That's part of it." Harry admitted. _A large part of it_. "But I also don't like the idea that he might be right… and there's another prophecy involving me." 

"As long as it's a good prophecy," The redhead fumbled with his cutlery. "You shouldn't worry about it. You said it was like a romantic fairy tale. Just because he thinks that you're what he's looking for doesn't mean anything at the moment. You just have to make him realize that you're not only who he's looking for… but Harry, as well. Maybe right now he only knows you as a promise to be fulfilled… but you have time to convince him you're more than that." 

Harry blinked. "Ron…?" 

The tall boy looked away, embarrassed. "I had been a little uncomfortable with you taking an interest in Malfoy," Ron admitted. "But both 'Mione and me want you to be happy. I think I'm starting to understand why 'Mione didn't want to tell me anything this afternoon. She had found the two of you… but she didn't want to tell me anything. I wouldn't have reacted very… calmly, I guess." 

Harry felt like he was dreaming. Ron sounded like he understood the situation more than Harry did, and was advising the smaller boy on what to do. 

"Although I don't think it's right for Malfoy to see you as someone else… I think it's a start. He'll pay attention to you because of that, right? And you can use that so Malfoy will understand who you are. And if he doesn't like you for being who you are… then you can happily dump him, knowing it would never work out." 

"And if I fall in love?" Harry asked quietly. "What if I fall in love… and Draco finds out that I'm not who he expected?" 

Ron fell silent. The two of them sat there for a few moments, listening to the distant sounds of the house elves working hard, already preparing for breakfast and cleaning up after the students of the castle. 

Harry waited expectantly for an answer from Ron. If this really was a dream, and Ron really was someone who knew more than him and could give good advice, then he'd have to listen closely to what his best friend said. 

"Well… I guess you can't fall in love until he falls in love with you." Ron peered at him. "You're not in love with him already, are you?" 

Harry shook his head. 

Ron looked relieved. "There. Problem solved." 

The two grinned nervously at each other, and Ron finally set down the half-finished food as well. "Well, I'm certainly not hungry. And you haven't touched your food for a while now. Feel like going back?" 

Harry agreed readily, and the both of them thanked the house elves before leaving the kitchens in a hurry, wanting to leave the thick and serious atmosphere behind. 

The walked down the cold halls quietly, not wanting to attract any attention, but pretty sure that no one besides the house elves would be up at this hour. They walked in companionable silence, both relieved that the talk was over. 

"Ron?" Harry said as they reached a corner close to the Gryffindor tower, but closer still to the Head Girl room that Hermione resided in. 

"Yeah?" 

"…Thanks." 

Ron only grinned in response. 

*** 

Hermione had been staying up late, doing some extra studying for the NEWTs. She honestly wouldn't have heard the quiet footsteps, if she hadn't known the people whom they belonged to so well. 

What were Ron and Harry doing outside at such a late hour? 

She pushed away from her desk, taking off her reading glasses and stepping towards her door. Pushing the portrait door open slightly, she spied her two best friends walking together, occasionally whispering to each other. 

"Ron? Harry?" she whispered to them, watching as the two turned towards her door with surprised expressions. "What are you still doing up?" 

"I got hungry." Harry said. "We were just coming back from the kitchens." 

Hermione frowned. As Head Girl, she really should take points off them for wandering around after lights out, but she didn't feel like a Head Girl at the late hours, hair slightly rumpled from hours of slouching over books. "I told you to eat at dinner," She scolded instead. 

"Sorry," Harry said. "But I honestly wasn't hungry then." 

Her frown only grew deeper as she saw another shadow approach the two boys. If there was someone else there, then she would be forced to take points from all three of them, which she didn't feel like doing. "Who else is with you?" 

"With us? There's no one else here…" 

In a flash, Ron was interrupted by large green leaves that literally ran into him, making him lose his balance and crash into Harry, who had not been watching as he had heard something and was trying to look for who Hermione could have seen. 

Both boys landed on the cold stone floor with an 'oof' and Hermione gaped as she saw a large potted plant try and regain it's balance, several large roots dangling out of the pot and steadying itself on the ground. 

Did that plant have… legs? 

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed as he scrambled off the smaller boy, looking up only to see the large plant looming over them. "What in the-?" 

The plant looked like it wavered for a moment before stilling again, seemingly taking a good look at the three people gaping at it before it turned to one side and scrambled away, running down the hall like a spider. 

"That…" Harry gaped. "Ginny's plant!" He scrambled to his feat, and took off after the plant, dashing down the corridor after it. 

"Harry…! Wait!" Ron started running after the ebony haired boy. 

"You two!" Hermione wondered if she was dreaming. "You'll get in trouble if you don't go back to the tower! Hey…!" They were already disappearing as the plant took a sudden turn down another corridor. The two boys didn't stop, and turned to chase after it. 

Hermione didn't have time to consider her actions before she dashed out of her door, mentally thanking whatever deity was there that she was still wearing her school uniform and hadn't changed into her nightgown yet. 

"Damn it… Wait for me!" 

*** 

It was the next morning when Draco woke up that he found most of his housemates down in the common room, conspiring among themselves. There was a great hush that descended on them when Draco came down the stairs. 

"What's going on?" The vampire childe demanded, not liking the fact that everyone was eyeing him warily. He had found out earlier on that in order to not be ostracized by his house, he had either confide in his non-human status, or claim that he was a supporter of Voldemort. So he had used his last name in order to gain respect among the pure-bloods of the wizarding world. 

It helped that he was the childe of the infamous Lucius Malfoy. While most people didn't see the connection between Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy, most Death Eater children would understand- since Lucius Malfoy was an avid supporter of the Dark Lord. 

"Where were you last night, Draco?" Pansy Parkingson demanded to know, her expression hard and unmoving as the pale vampire approached the group. 

"I was feeding." Draco lied easily. "You don't expect me to go hungry when I'm rooming with you, correct?" 

There were a few boys who shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to know the details at all. 

"You missed the message sent by our Lord." Pansy said, ignoring the explanation that Draco gave. "He needs all of us now. Our Lord has finally found a source of power that will ensure that we defeat the dimwits who are relying on Potty to help them." 

Draco had to shove down the urge to attack Pansy as she sneered out Harry's name in that derogative tone. 

"What has he found now?" Draco managed in a languid and bored tone. "Another plan to capture the Golden Boy and bribe the Wizarding World to 'give up or the boy gets it'?" He snickered to himself at the subtle muggle reference. 

Many of the other Slytherins gave him a sneering glare, although none of them dared to speak out against him. They didn't want to anger a vampire… especially not the childe of Lucius Malfoy, the Dark Lord's lead correspondent for Dark Creatures. 

"Our Lord has wants us to make sure that Potter does not leave Hogwarts." Blaise said in Pansy's place, seeing the girl to be too angry at the blonde vampire to continue. 

"But why?" Draco asked, trying not to sound too curious. "If Voldemort wants to take Harry Potter out, then he'd want Potter on the battlefield, not protected by this castle." 

The others winced when Draco mentioned the name, but Blaise continued, "The Dark Lord has found the power to control the forces of nature." He explained. "And he doesn't want Potter to interfere again." 

Control… the forces of nature? 

Draco distinctly remembered a time when Emerald had been the garden, and had laughingly told Draco about why there was no one else who could sit in the throne of the faerie realm. 

_"The royal blood is thick." Emerald had explained with a smile as he tended to a fluttering fern which had perked at the prince's attentions. "And it is different from the blood of other faeries. Only those with royal blood- and it has to be a direct decent of royalty! –can activate the powers of our throne. The throne protects this entire kingdom, and is the reason that most people can't find this place. We're protected by the forces of nature, because my father can use the throne to call upon the forests to help him." _

Shit. Voldemort was trying to find the faerie throne. 

But that meant that that the Dark Lord had faerie blood… or didn't. What did it mean? 

He had to talk to Luna. 

continued in chapter 7 

**Authoress' Notes:** I just couldn't get into the mood for writing this entire week- probably due to the fact that there were a million things I had to do. ^^;; So I used the five hours of Wesley's therapy to bring my laptop and write this entire chapter in one sitting. So sorry if it's really short; I wanted this chapter to be funny, but it was kind of hard to do that when things get so serious. 

Responses in LiveJournal. ^_^ I know that plant is really weird... but I needed a pointless part inbetween all this seriousness. XD And now we finally know! Voldemort's after the faerie throne, so Draco would have to think up something to stop him. Ron's really out of character, but I figured that he would really mature by seventh year, since he matured so much in fifth year alone. 


	7. The Vampire's Century Long Search,

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H!

Thanks so much to my speedy beta, Mednar! *glomps!* 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
Hermione had her head slumped between the folds of a book early the next morning, her eyes semi-bloodshot and her hair limp and falling into her face. She couldn't find a hair tie this morning, and had been tempted to just cut the mess off in one half-lucid thought. But no… she'd known that if she had, she would regret it later. 

Sitting at the Gryffindor table during the early morning hours for breakfast, Hermione reflected back on last night and mentally blamed her best friends for her moody morning. If only they hadn't taken off like that… after all, it was her duty as Head Girl to ensure that all the students were in bed after hours. Naturally, when you combined that with the fact that she was just so used to following Ron and Harry around, it led to her chasing those two boys and a plant around until about two in the morning. 

Merlin be damned, but those boys had stamina late at night. 

Hermione grinned into her book, biting back laughter at the innuendo in that statement. She was too tired to realize that the thought was not 'proper' for her to have, and too bloody peeved at the both of them to care if they might be offended at the thought. Those two were uncontrollable, even after seven years of being constantly berated and tamed by Hermione. 

She blamed that on their own stubbornness, and not on her inability to tame them. 

Yeah, well… she hoped that they felt worse than her right now. They were the ones who were constantly running around last night, due to chasing that weird plant around… and then being chased around by that weird plant. 

Hermione still didn't get why they had a plant running around Hogwarts (and not confined to Greenhouse 2!), and that just grated at her nerves. She wasn't used to not knowing something, so the book she had taken with her to breakfast this morning had been a Herbology book. 

"Good morning!" came the cheerful tone of Ron, who had sat down next to her while she hadn't been paying attention. Harry sat down in front of her at the table, and didn't look any worse for wear than he had during the normal mornings. "And how's my lovely girlfriend this morning?" 

Hermione glared up at Ron from behind her book, her evil eye stare only emphasized by the redness of those eyes and the bags underneath. 

"Oooookay. Guess we better leave you alone until you've had your morning cup of coffee," Ron said, clearly trained to not mention anything about menstrual problems. (He had learned his lesson in the end of sixth year, when Hermione had cursed him so badly he couldn't sit comfortably in class for a month. And that was after he was discharged from Madam Pomphrey.) The redheaded boy (who just _had_ to be a morning person on _that particular morning_ when he usually wasn't even a morning person) turned back to Harry, who had calmly started to load his plate with breakfast. "I would have thought that you would be more peeved, Harry, considering last night." 

A few people who were sitting nearby stopped their conversations to try and listen to that one. 

"That's your fault." Harry said calmly while buttering his toast. Hermione wanted to agree with Harry, but she refrained from doing anything, seeing as he was the first one to start running--so she blamed him as well. 

"Hey, Ginny," Ron called to his sister as she walked into the Great Hall, sitting down near the three. "We found your plant last night. But then we lost it again." 

"Unless you have it now," she grumbled as she seated herself neatly besides Harry, "I don't see how you can help me." Harry eyed her sympathetically. 

"Project due today?" The redheaded girl only grumbled an affirmative as she dug into the food on the table. 

"I know how we can get it back for you." Ron was just altogether too cheerful that morning. Hermione was tempted to hit him with a sober spell, just to see if her boyfriend was high on something. It certainly sounded like he was on something, especially when she could see no one else so energetic. 

"Ron, shut up." Harry's voice was starting to harden, trying to warn the redheaded boy not to say anything. 

Hermione wondered if she would regret it later if she tried out the spell she had read of yesterday, about turning someone into a newt. Ron wouldn't mind too much, would he? The spell would only last a few minutes before the person turned back, but she hadn't memorized the entire spell for so it would work properly. Then again, Madam Promfrey was sure to cure all ails… including mispronounced spells. 

At least, that's what Hermione thought, but she wasn't so sure. Maybe she shouldn't hex Ron… yet. 

"Can you get it back before Herbology?" Ginny was fingering her fork, eyeing her brother warily. "No one's seen it at all… how can you get it back for me?" 

"If you're trying to accuse me of hiding that plant from you," Ron started, "that's not true. And I'm trying to get it back for you because it's my duty to help you as your older brother. 'Mione, Harry, and I were chasing it for you all this morning. We lost it, though. Fast little bugger, it is." 

"_Chasing_ it?" 

"Yes. Did you know? It actually sprouted its roots like legs and ran away from us." 

Ginny looked extremely skeptical about the cheerful words that her brother was saying, and Harry poked at his toast harder, trying to ignore what the siblings were saying. He wanted to talk to the Headmaster before classes started, but didn't want to worry his friends… so he would most likely have to sneak away while Ron and Hermione were busy with each other. 

Except… Harry snuck a glance at his two best friends. Hermione didn't look like she would warm up to Ron anytime soon after that stunt last night. 

"How do you plan on getting it back if it can run away?" Ginny was asking. She looked surprisingly accepting of what Ron had told her--that the plant she had cared for had run away on sprouted roots. Maybe it was a common thing in the wizarding world for plants to run away like that… Harry wouldn't be too surprised if that were true. 

"Easy." Uh-oh. Ron sounded too devious there. Almost like Fred and George. Only… Harry never felt that nervous around Fred and George, because he knew that the twins wouldn't pull anything too embarrassing on him. 

"Ron, shut up," Harry tried again. 

"Your wonderful plant seems to be in love with Harry. Blimey… we must have chased it around for an hour or so last night… but then the plant turned itself around and started chasing Harry. Quite a sight, that was. You really should have been there to see it." 

Harry was wondering if cruel and unusual punishment was applied when it came to the wizarding society. 

"We can just set a trap for that plant. Tie Harry up somewhere out near the Forbidden Forest, and hide behind some trees to wait for that plant to reappear again, then Bam! We can tie up the plant and-" Ron yelped and ducked under the table as Harry took out his wand, fingering it with a strange gleam in his eyes. 

"Or maybe we should leave Ron to be molested by the plant," Hermione suggested casually to Ginny, who only gaped at both her and Harry, not used to seeing the both of them in such bad moods. 

*** 

Harry sighed warily as he finally managed to escape the frantic mess that had been breakfast. He had looked around when he had first gotten to the Great Hall, and had been alarmed to see that a large amount of Slytherins were missing from their table- including Draco. 

_Perhaps they slept in,_ Harry reasoned to himself. After all, breakfast had just started, and he had been dragged out so early because Ron had been so energetic that morning. 

After the fiasco when Hermione had finally snapped out of her funk and threatened to hex Ron into next week, Harry had excused himself amongst the bickering and staring that had been going around the Gryffindor table, desperately needing to talk to Dumbledore. 

He hadn't forgotten about the prophecy Draco had talked about. 

"Mars Bars," he told the Gargoyle standing at attention in a quiet voice, mind still not caught up with what happened in the last few days. 

As he was walking up the stairs towards the Headmaster's office, Harry contemplated his actions. Had he been too rash in the last day? After all, he had barely gotten to know Draco… he wasn't even sure if what the pale vampire had told him was correct. Why did he trust the Slytherin so blindly? Although Harry had never been one to turn away from gut instinct, he also knew to be cautious around possible false ideas. After all, it was Voldemort who had planted a false image of Sirius being tortured that led to the whole incident in the Department of Mysteries. 

And he had only started talking to Draco two days ago. How was it that he felt so attached to the other boy? 

Hearing soft voices talking behind the thick door to the Headmaster's office, Harry knocked quietly to ensure that they would know someone was outside before he intruded on whatever conversation they were having. 

The voices ceased for a moment before Harry heard Dumbledore call out for him to enter, in his usual jovial tone. 

Pushing through the doorframe, Harry was surprised to see that Draco was already seated in one of the chairs in the office, looking tense: eyes glaring while his whole body sat ramrod straight, hands gripping at the poor arms of the chair tightly. The pale vampire's demeanor changed immediately when he saw the Gryffindor, though, and the tension just flowed out of him like a stream. Draco smiled gratefully at Harry, as if the dark-haired boy had come to be his moral support. 

No. Draco's smile wasn't that simple. Instead, Harry felt as if the smile was there because nothing else now existed except for him in Draco's eyes, not even the previous problems that had obviously bothered him so. 

"What can I do for you, Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly, eyes twinkling despite the boy's apparent discomfort near the vampire. 

"I… I can wait for a later time if you're in the middle of something…" Harry said. He did not want to talk to Dumbledore when Draco was there as well. Especially when his questions concerned the things that Draco had told him last night. 

"No, we're just about done here." The old wizard nodded to the vampire. "I was just telling Mr. Malfoy about how Ms. Lovegood had already deigned to return to her people yesterday night, on the specifications of an emergency she had to deal with." 

Draco seemed to remember the original problem now, and scowled at no one in particular. 

Harry couldn't help but wonder at how the blonde Slytherin managed to look regal in whatever he wore, whether it was rumpled robes or plain muggle clothing like the ones he had on at the moment. How did the other boy always manage to look like he had taken hours to perfect his appearance, whereas Harry would never look prepared, despite anything the girls had tried to do for him over the years? 

"And what questions do you have for me today, Harry?" the headmaster asked, settling himself in the armchair behind the desk. The Slytherin seemed to take this as his queue to leave, as he stood gracefully and swept out of the room in one motion, brushing shoulders with the Gryffindor boy. Harry shuddered involuntarily, feeling static electricity pass through his body at the contact. 

The green eyed boy waited until the door was closed securely behind Draco before speaking. 

"I've just been told that there's another prophecy concerning me." 

The headmaster looked at the boy intently, before nodding. "By Mr. Malfoy, no doubt." 

"Is it true? Am I really who he thinks I am?" 

Harry felt agitated. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. There had never been so many confusing emotions banging for release inside his head before. It would have been easy to just be angry, or just be happy… but Harry wasn't sure what to feel. Did he want to be the one in the prophecy, just so Draco would continue to stick close to him? Or did he not want that to happen because he hated the idea or being at the center of attention again, hated the idea that he was even more special? 

There was a brief moment of silence as Harry tried to organize his thoughts with little success. 

Dumbledore looked pensive. "It is true, Harry." 

The dark haired boy felt as if an anvil had been dropped on top of his head, and he swallowed frantically, trying to sound calm. 

"About the prophecy? Or about who he thinks I am?"

Harry didn't know what to think. He had expected some vague answer on Dumbledore's part, something that would make him have to think and figure things out for himself- mostly so that he could see only want he wanted to see. He hadn't expected such a straightforward answer, and was reeling from the idea that what Draco said could all be true. 

Dumbledore gave a nearly unnoticeable sigh, and motioned for Harry to sit down. The green eyed boy did so without much resistance, as he was expecting to hear an explanation for the answer. 

"I was a very young man when the faerie kingdom fell," Dumbledore started to explain. "It wasn't very big news, as the wizarding world had never concerned itself with the faerie realms before, but I had become a friend of the elves by that time, since I had studied their numerous languages in several different elven havens back then. I had been declared a trusted friend, and it was the elves that taught me many of the magics that are not taught at Hogwarts." 

Harry waited. He knew that Dumbledore would not tell him something without there being a point behind it, although sometimes one had to wait for a long while or had to decipher the point from many other obscure facts. 

"I had heard of Princess Luna back then, as she was a young child in the ages of the elves, and children were very much venerated as elven children were such a rarity. They told me that she had an incredible gift for prophecy, that she was able to affect a known future by adding various unpredictable elements to it. 

"I had little faith in divination back then, my boy… but prophecies had always fascinated me. Men were known for their ability to prophesize being the strongest, although it's not known why. Even magical creatures who could wield the magics around us much better than we could did not have the ability to predict and tell the future as we humans did. You can see that to hear of such strong talent in another species was amazing." 

"What does this have to do with everything that Draco said?" Harry wondered out loud, his patience wearing thin. "Was she the one who made the prophecy concerning me?" 

He felt like he were in a turning point of his life, where the answers were finally being released to him. Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to be saying, what he was supposed to be asking. He felt more like he was separated from his own body, watching the scene through spectoral eyes that didn't belong to him, but to someone else. He was pretty sure that the temperature of the room had dropped several degrees, as he felt goosebumps rising with every word that Dumbledore said. 

It was either that, or just him reacting to words that hit a distinct note in his soul. 

Harry already knew what the answer to his question was, but he desparately needed the confirmation.

"Yes, she was." Dumbledore replied slowly. "And she had already made the prophecy the first time I met her. All the prophecies that we are used to are made in languages that we understand and can be translated directly for the human ear. That is because it is humans who made the prophecy. However, elven prophecies… are much more complicated. While humans spoke riddles to the listener to try and conceal the future, Princess Luna tried to be as clear as possible about what she told the future would bring. 

"She taught me that everything is tied to each other, and that one person's pain can affect the rest of humanity. The future is so interconnected that it has to be vague for humans to predict it so, meaning the human skill of prophecy is weak… not strong. It is those who can predict the future clearly that have the strongest abilities. They can manipulate what happens, twist things to their own advantage… but only if it involves themselves or something close to them." 

"What do you mean, sir?" 

There was a slight pause as Dumbledore stopped to consider his words, and Harry fidgeted in the silence, not knowing what else to do. Why was the headmaster explaining prophecies so thoroughly to him? He was here to hear about things that concerned him... and even though there were certainly enough prophecies that concerned him, Harry didn't want to know about different varieties of prophecies. He wanted to know if what Draco said was true... and to what extent and degree.

"The strongest seers in their world will see clear and accurate images of the world's future… but if that were so, they would go insane with grief at how the would might end. So that such a thing will not happen, the talent limits itself to protect the person. The strongest seers can only see the future as it relates to them. They can only affect the futures that involve them or someone close to them. That way, they do not have to handle the burden of the rest of the world." 

"So she must have been a close friend of the faerie prince to make such a prophecy," Harry deduced. 

"Princess Luna owed a debt to the faerie populace for saving her life once. She had loved and respected the faerie prince, and had been devastated to find out that humans had already prophesized his death. That is where you come in, Harry." 

The prophecy. Because the faerie prince was going to die, she had predicted that he would be reborn again, perhaps evening stating that the faerie prince would be reborn as a human. It wasn't hard for Harry to figure out most of the rest of it, but he was still not able to keep the bitterness out of his voice when he stated flatly, "She prophesized for the faerie prince to be reborn as… me." 

The headmaster nodded gravely. "Indeed. The death of the last faerie prince would mean the death of the Seelie faeries, as there were no others in the line for royalty. Princess Luna could not allow that to happen, so she predicted that his soul would come back in another form, keeping the faeries from falling to chaos under the lack of royalty. She put them all to sleep until the prince returns and reclaims the throne as he was meant to after his coronation." 

"That doesn't make sense." Harry shook his head. "Why would the faeries die without the prince? Couldn't they just have someone else lead them?" 

"You're thinking of them like humans," Dumbledore admonished. "They are not like us. They are purely magical creatures, who flourish under the guidance of great leaders who contain something very special. The royal family of Sidhe faeries has the blood to control one of the most powerful natural objects in this world. Their throne." 

"Throne?" 

Puzzlement. What did all of this have to do with a throne?

"The Sidhe throne controls the forces of natures. It is what kept the faerie realm from being revealed to others, and what keeps this world in a balance. It is what makes every action on this planet significant. Although it can't control what happens to this earth, so there is no point in using the throne to purify everything that humans have destroyed, it does have the power to ravage the earth's surface until there is no one who can inhabit this planet." 

"Surely there can't be anything like that." Harry protested. "I mean… shouldn't it be destroyed, then? An object like that would surely pose too much danger to everyone else." 

"It cannot be destroyed, Harry, for it is an object of nature. Had it been a creation of man, or perhaps even of something else, we could have opted to destroy it before, but the throne of the Sidhe faeries is a natural phenomenon, which would devastate this earth if it were destroyed." 

"Yet, if I'm supposedly the reincarnation of this faerie prince…" 

"You have the power to control this throne, yes." Dumbledore looked on as Harry slumped in his seat. "This is a great responsibility, Harry. I did not want to tell you before because it was not my place to tell you. The prophecy spoke that only the vampire childe trusted implicitly by the faeries would find the faerie prince again, and I could not interfere. Luna's prophecies are too strong, and would backlash if you had been told by anyone other than Mr. Malfoy." 

"How can you trust her prophecies so much?" Harry whispered, not wanting any of this to be true. He was unnerved especially by how Dumbledore knew so much about this... and how he was physically reacting to this information, feeling as if he were freezing within his own skin. He was anguished by all this. "How do you know so much?" 

Dumbledore gazed sadly at the boy. "You are not the only one who had been touched by her prophecies, Harry. We are all part of the intricate web, although I must admit that I played my role far earlier than everyone else." 

"How? How are you part of the prophecy?" 

"There were two wizards who killed the faerie prince the first time. One who had already died when he was captured, and another whom they had never found. It took nearly forty years to identify the one who had cast the dark curses on the faerie prince in the first place, but it was Princess Luna that predicted I would find him and defeat him." 

Harry sucked in a breath. "Grindlewald." 

The headmaster peered at him over half moon glasses. "Yes, Harry… Grindlewald." 

*** 

"No, nononononono…. You guys? I was joking, really. I would never have done that to Harry." Ron's voice was getting more desperate by the second, and Hermione almost wished that she had performed a full body bind on him. But then again, if she had, her boyfriend would have been dead weight and she would never have been able to move his arms. No, it was easier even with him fighting them every step of the way. 

"What do you say, Ginny? Should we give it a few hours before we leave, or should we just leave now and come back later to see if it worked?" Hermione asked as she struggled to hold down Ron's arms around the pole they had conjured up. 

"I think we should stay. Maybe go down to the kitchens first and ask if they would make us some drinks and snacks… maybe a picnic lunch for later. Definitely wouldn't want to miss this. Maybe we should also cast a recording spell. Send it off to Fred and George later on, you know." 

"That's a good idea." 

"_No_, that's _not_ a good idea! Have the both of you gone insane? Is it that time of the month for you guys? It's just that- ow!!" 

Ginny tightened the knot significantly when she heard that comment from her older brother. She gave a theatrical sigh, knowing that Ron really shouldn't have said that considering that he had already learned the consequences of saying things like that in front of other girls (particularly Hermione) in sixth year. "You should know better than to ask a girl something like that, Ron." She said darkly. "It might piss us off more." 

"How have I pissed you off?" Ron cried, struggling but failing to regain his freedom as Ginny finished the final knot on his wrists. "What did I say that made you so angry? I swear, I take it back!" 

Hermione really didn't want to tell Ron that she had been irritated this morning to begin with, and that it was a million little things since they got back together two days ago that just sent her off, as she knew that Ron could never take all that back, and it was nice to think that her redheaded boyfriend was willing to take something he said or did back… even if it was only because he could do nothing else. 

Ginny, of course, knew better than to go against Hermione. Besides, she wanted her plant back before her Herbology period after lunch, and figured that she could skip Divinations without missing much information. Maybe Professor Trelawney would think that she had died along with Harry, or something. 

She hesitated slightly as she blushed, but then continued on her recording spell, determined not to have anyone notice. 

"Are you sure this will work?" Ginny asked Hermione after they were both done. They were admiring Ron as he struggled to get out of his knots and leave, seeing the redheaded boy frantic about being tied to a pole in the middle of an open field. 

"No, I'm not," Hermione admitted. "But it _might_ work. And it's certainly a better chance than just sitting on our hands and letting the plant come to us." 

"We're still letting the plant come to us," Ginny pointed out. 

"Yes, but this time we have bait." 

Ron only opted to struggle more at those words, mouth opening to yell out obscenities just as Hermione tied a gag around his mouth. 

He glared at both his sister and his girlfriend. 

"Sure this isn't some weird kink that you have, Hermione?" His sister asked worriedly. 

"Watching Ron gagged and tied to a pole, waiting for a plant to come and molest him so that we can catch that plant?" Hermione thought for a few moments, making Ron sweat intensely. "No, I don't think so." 

"Why are we tying Ron up as bait, anyway?" Ginny wanted to know. "What happened last night when you guys saw the plant again?" 

Hermione grumbled incoherently before finally plopping herself on the ground for an explanation. "Harry and Ron both took off after the plant- I'm hoping because they were trying to find it for you- and chased it around for about an hour. I, in all my stupidity (which won't be happening again!), followed them." 

"That can't be all," Ginny said, sitting down next to Hermione and purposely ignoring the struggle her brother was putting up. "If that were all, how would you know to use Ron as bait?" 

"Don't know… we should have really used Harry, actually. About halfway into the chase, the plant turned itself around and tried to… well, entangle itself up with Harry." The bushy haired girl gave a small chuckle. "You should have seen the look on his face! Harry panicked, and Ron helped him away from the plant before we all took off running away from that God-awful thing. Of course, after having felt Harry up, that plant of yours turned itself around and gave chase to us!" Hermione peered at Ginny closely. "Maybe you rubbed off on it." 

Ginny turned bright red. She had not influenced that stupid plant! In fact… she really disliked what her plant did! It was a violation of Harry's personal space, that's what it was! 

"But after being chased around by that plant for another hour," Hermione continued on, "we finally lost it and decided that the best course of action by then was to go back to sleep and hope that the plant didn't reappear." 

"So why is Ron being used as the bait?" Ginny asked again. 

"Because he's my boyfriend, and I have a right to tie him up and gag him, whereas I don't have that right with Harry… unless he's done something really bad, of course." Hermione answered plaintively. 

Ginny inched away from the other girl slowly. 

continued in chapter 8 

**Authoress' Notes:** Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! ^__^ This chapter would have been a very boring on about Dumbledore confirming what Draco said, but I figured I'd spice it up some with the return of the plant and some twists. *cackles* The next chapter is a continuation of Dumbledore and Harry talking, and Ron being tied and gagged. ^^;; Draco will have a bigger part in the next chapter, I swear! Next chapter should be longer, as I was completely distracted this week by my cousin's hospital stay. He's back home again, and I hope to spend some more time with him- but I can bring my laptop while I babysit him. ^__^ He's facinated my my music, anyway. LOL. All responses to last chapter's reviews are in my LiveJournal! ^__^ *beams* 


	8. And the Dark Lord's Cunning Plans

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
"I don't understand." Harry said quietly as he tried to take in all the information that had been handed to him. His head felt like it was swirling on a carousal ride, trying to digest all the facts that he had learned. "Grindlewald… was the one to kill him? The faerie prince that Draco loved?" 

"Grindlewald was one of them." Dumbledore replied from where he was settled in his seat, his voice so casual that most people would have thought he was talking about the weather. "The other wizard had been Grindlewald's mentor… whose name was erased from the history books as an act from the faeries. Politics a hundred years ago were not the same as politics today, my boy. Where you'd not get a broken wand and a prison sentence, the harshest punishment back then was exile and to have your name erased. No one would remember you, and everything that ever indicated that such a person existed was erased." 

Harry pursed his lips in thought, hands gripped tightly as the edge of his robes. This was certainly an unexpected development. He had not prepared himself for such interrelations with everything he had plotted out. 

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry finally ventured to ask. It was unlike the Headmaster to offer the information so readily and not put it off until he felt that Harry could handle everything. 

Dumbledore looked grave. "Mr. Malfoy has come to me this morning with very disturbing and urgent news." 

The old headmaster rose from his chair wearily, pushing himself up by the arms of the cushioned seat. He seemed to feel as if the message was too important for him to sit and deliver by himself. "Normally, I would have allowed you time to figure out all the information on your own… with a great deal of help from Mr. Malfoy. I wanted to give you time to handle this situation… but it seems that there is no time to spare now." 

The headmaster's serious tone softened as he looked to the agitated boy before him. The gentle smile spread across the old face as Dumbledore lost himself in memories for just a moment, knowing that after this one moment… everything would change. He would not be able to protect this boy that he had grown to love so dearly anymore, as after that- Harry would not be able to seek guidance from him anymore. 

With a knowing look, the Headmaster of Hogwarts smiled gently at Harry. "I first thought that your mother was the one of prophecy." He admitted quietly, letting Harry know that this was information that not many people had been privy to. "Her eyes were a shock to the rest of us, and I had contacted the elves immediately to get a confirmation that the small Lily Evens just might be the reincarnation of the prince we had been searching for." 

Harry leaned forward in his chair. Had his mother been a large part of this mystery as well? He wondered about that for a moment, biting down on his tongue to ensure that he would not interrupt Dumbledore with questions as the professor told this tale. Harry had always wanted to know more about his mother, and was desperately in need of information on her. Had she been involved in this as well? 

"Lily had confirmed to me that like the faerie prince, her green eyes had not come from the rest of her family, and that she didn't know if she had inherited a passive gene from many generations back. She resembled enough of both her parents that her heritage drew no questions- it was her eyes that had always made her the special one of the family." Dumbledore's smile grew fond in remembrance. "She once asked me if that had been magic as well." 

"Had it?" Harry asked tentatively, no sure if he should interrupt until Dumbledore was done. "Was it all because of magic?" 

"Not that we know of." Dumbledore waved his wave absently over the tabletop, and a plate of biscuits and a pitcher of pumpkin juice appeared neatly. "Something to eat?" 

Harry shook his head, feeling slightly better knowing that it was the same Dumbledore who asked that as he usually did for a lemon drop- although it did make the young man uneasy to realize that there was no candy around this time. 

"Your mother was an extraordinary witch, Harry. And you have her heart, just as surely as you have your father's hair." 

Harry smiled just a bit. 

Dumbledore sobered. "Events are going at a quicker pace than expected. It was your mother who convinced your father to go into hiding. She had been too worried over your safety, because she knew that you were special… that you were the person we had first mistaken her to be. The rest of us didn't know, of course… we could only assume that she was worried for you as a new mother would be. But being your mother, she automatically knew how special you were… more than anyone else would ever know. It took us years before we figured it out." 

Dumbledore poured a glass of pumpkin juice for himself. "Mr. Malfoy had come to me this morning with information that he had overheard from the rest of the Slytherins. Voldemort is on the move. He has been looking for the throne of the faeries, but had not been able to find it due to the fact that the elves hid the faerie kingdom after the death of the faerie prince. We knew that Voldemort had been after the throne before… but we hadn't worried about it. 

"But then he found you. Despite our attempts to hide you, Voldemort had found out that you were the reincarnation of the faerie prince, and that if he allowed you to live- you would be able to wield a power far beyond anything his Death Eaters could gather for him. It was then that he tried to kill you." 

Harry blinked, finally starting to realize the events that led up to the life he lived. "And… he failed. Therefore starting the prophecy that you told me about in fifth year…" 

Dumbledore nodded. "Very good, Harry. By trying to kill you before, he started a chain of events that led up to another prophecy… and connected both prophecies together. 

"The Dark Lord is a very intelligent creature, my child. He followed onto that immediately, and figured out a way to try and combat both prophecies at the same time. We hadn't worried about you as the faerie prince even when the world declared you as the Boy-Who-Lived. You would eventually claim the faerie throne, after all. You were the only one in the world with the royal blood of the Seelie faeries." 

Harry started to get the feeling of something awry as Dumbledore continued to talk. There was something wrong with the story, something that he wasn't remembering. And with Dumbledore looking at him like he was supposed to figure it all out with the information that had been given, Harry felt like screaming. There was too much information to digest, after all. 

Then it clicked. 

"The resurrection ceremony…" Harry breathed out. "He used my blood to create a new body for himself…" 

Old, weary eyes peered at him over half-moon glasses. "Correct. If Voldemort finds the faerie throne, he would have the power to control the throne in any way he wished. The elvish magic is fading, Harry. When Draco realized who you were and told you, he fulfilled a part of the prophecy that leads to the unveiling of the faerie kingdom. 

"Voldemort will find the faerie kingdom any day now. With no one on the faerie throne to hide their magics, and the elves unable to conceal the kingdom now- it's a matter of time before he enters the kingdom and claims one of the most powerful weapons on this earth." 

That feeling of dread was practically screaming at Harry now. 

"And what do you want me to do?" Harry asked quietly. 

"You have to get to the throne before Voldemort does." Dumbledore informed him. "You and Mr. Malfoy will be leaving tomorrow morning at sunrise. Ms. Lovegood has already left last night to try and reinforce the magics covering the faerie kingdom. I will contact her to tell her of your arrival. Mr. Malfoy should inform you of the rest, and I will tell you what is prepared after I have firecalled Princess Luna." 

Harry nodded numbly. This… was a lot to take in. 

The headmaster looked at him sympathetically. "You should take the rest of the day to relax, Harry. You can tell your friends what you wish, as you are dismissed from your classes today." 

Harry got up and left the office systematically, not even thinking about what he was doing. 

There was someone waiting for him outside the office. 

Draco Malfoy looked up from where he was leaning against the wall, studying the stone gargoyle with rapt attention. 

"Harry?" The blonde asked tentatively, seeing how dazed the other boy looked. "How are you feeling?" 

_Like shit._ Harry wanted to say, seeing as it was the god-honest truth. But instead, he replied, "I'm alright." 

There was too much information to take in at once. Maybe Dumbledore had been kind in giving him a few years to digest the first prophecy in fifth year, after all. Realizing everything in one blow was much too exhausting. 

But, Harry thought with determination. He wouldn't let that hinder him. Voldemort was on the move again… that information was something that Harry could take in easily. He was used to trying to keep one step ahead of the Dark Lord. This adventure would be something that he could think of as just another year where he was trying to stay alive. 

Grey eyes scanned his face intently. "I take it that the headmaster told you about our sudden departure tomorrow." 

"Yes." He had to think about what to take with him. "I need to talk to my friends about this… they would never approve of me pulling a disappearing act. Hermione would kill me if I didn't tell her where I was going." 

"Would you like me to be there as well?" 

Harry wanted to shake his head, thinking that Ron would not approve of the idea that Harry was going off with Draco when they had barely started talking to each other. But on the other hand… Harry really wanted him there, and the dark haired boy could have sworn that he heard the slight hesitation in Draco's voice, sense that Draco wanted to be there. 

The small Gryffindor smiled. "Yes." 

Draco relaxed for a moment, then smiled back. "Then I'll go with you." 

***

There was a great commotion outside where Harry was headed. He had been talking softly with Draco in the hallways, grateful for the pale Slytherin who had somehow managed to assure him that everything would be alright, and that things that were meant to happen would be put in motion, and that no matter what happens- he would be fine. 

Draco swore that he would be okay. 

Harry had at first been disconcerted about how intensely Draco had said that, and had squirmed under the intense stare of those glowing grey eyes, not sure how to respond. A part of him was extremely reassured by that statement, and another part of him was scared for Draco, wondering how far the other boy would go to protect him. They barely knew each other! 

And then there was a part of him that reminded Harry that Draco was in love with Emerald… a love that had lasted a century, and meant that Draco would be serious about that statement… that the vampire would do anything to make sure that Harry… no, _Emerald_, was alright. 

But Harry was not Emerald. And he didn't want to be like the kind prince that Draco had described to him. Harry definitely didn't have the patience and naivety that Draco had described, and hadn't grown up with the loving parents and people that Emerald had grown up with. 

Harry was a lot more cynical and bitter. It was shown by the pang of jealously that he felt whenever Draco went off on a tangent about how wonderful Emerald was. Draco's eyes seemed to look _through_ him. Those beautiful grey eyes seem to see someone else in Harry's place, and the green-eyed boy shuddered at the brightness of those eyes, understanding that the look wasn't for _Harry_. 

There was such love that Harry felt more than a little nervous. 

"Stop struggling, Ron! You're ruining the enchanted ropes!" 

Harry blinked as he stepped out into the sunlight, and saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny outside, both girls struggling with keeping Ron tied to a pole in the middle of the field. Hermione looked peeved, and Ron's face conveyed panic beneath the gag that he had on. 

Was this something kinky that Hermione had come up with? If it was, Harry really _didn't_ want to know. 

Draco stepped out after him, and Harry briefly wondered about the old ideas that vampires couldn't step out into the sunlight. Apparently, that wasn't the case with Draco. 

Ron saw the two boys as he flailed about, and let out a loud protesting noise to catch their attentions. 

"What is going on here?" Harry asked, feeling bewildered. This was certainly something that a person didn't see everyday… 

"We're helping out Ginny." Hermione said plainly as she finally got Ron under control, and took our her wand to cast a spell that made sure that Ron wouldn't be able to struggle out of the ropes again. "We're going to find that blasted plant, and trap it so that it wouldn't be running loose in school." 

"…and what does tying Ron up have to do with this?" Harry asked. 

There was a noise from Ron's direction that Harry was able to interpret as _'Exactly!'_. 

"He's bait." Ginny tried to explain. 

"Is it working?" Draco dared to ask. 

Hermione seemed to pout for a moment, but that expression disappeared after a second. "Not really. I guess I'm using the wrong person… but I couldn't find you earlier, Harry." 

The dark haired boy edged slowly behind Draco; understand what his best friend was talking about. Hermione was really scary this time of the month… "That's alright, 'Mione… I'm sure that Ron will suffice…" 

There was a guttural protest, which Harry understood as a betrayed sound from Ron. 

"I need that plant before lunchtime." Ginny tried to tell him. "It was a major project that Professor Sprout assigned… if I don't find the plant again, I'd get horrible marks for this year! And Ron _did_ say that as my older brother, he would help me." 

"But it's not working." Hermione repeated. 

Draco seemed to be contemplating something, ignoring the other people ("Did you take your medicine this morning, 'Mione? You do know that Madam Pomfrey gave that to you for a purpose…" "Shut up, Harry!") around him, and trying something out. 

_ "Accio Ginny's plant!"_

There was a moment of silence as the other four looked at him, waiting for something to happen. 

Draco gave a shrug when nothing happened. Oh, well. He had tried. 

But then there was a _whoosh_ sound before a small pot and lots of green appeared, bowling Ron down in the velocity. There was a large, leafy plant sprawled all over Ron, looking disoriented. 

"Why didn't _I_ think of that?" Hermione wondered aloud. 

But before anyone could answer her, the large plant seemed to have recovered and was climbing to its roots (feet?), preparing to run away. 

Then it saw Harry. 

"Wha-? Eck!! What in the name of Merlin-?!" 

Harry, who had been hiding from Hermione behind Draco, felt something wrap around his feet and pull his balance out from under him, hitting the ground with a solid 'thump' and braced his head with his arms, feeling the edges of his new glasses digging into his face. Before the others could react, he felt himself dragged along the ground towards Ginny's psychotic plant. 

"Harry!" Draco shouted, and grabbed onto the boy before the plant could drag him far away, wrapping his arms around the small boy's torso. 

"Try to trap it down, Ginny!" Hermione was shouting, pulling out her wand away from where she had placed it in the folds of her robe. 

Harry grabbed onto Draco in his panic, remembering that blasted plant from that morning. He'd be damned if he allowed that plant near him again! The ebony haired boy wrapped his arms around Draco's shoulders, freaking out and starting to kick his legs when he felt a vine slide up his pant leg. 

"Get it off me!!" Harry cried, clutching onto the other boy so desperately that Draco felt like his oxygen supply was being cut off. 

There was a series of spells that stopped the plant in its tracks, making the meandering vine withdraw and let go of Harry suddenly. 

Draco lost his balance as the plant suddenly withdrew and landed with his back on the ground behind him, Harry landing on top of the Slytherin. 

"Oof-!" 

Harry tried his best to scramble off the blonde, his face turning an alarming shade of red. 

There were sounds of struggling as Hermione and Ginny cast more spells to ensure that the plant wouldn't be running off again anytime soon, and groans from Ron who wanted those two to free him now that they had the plant. 

"Sorry." Harry mumbled as he realized that he had both arms around Draco's neck even as both of them were laying flush against each other on the ground, Draco still with his arms wrapped tightly around Harry's waist, as if still trying to pull Harry away from Ginny's plant. 

Draco stared into Harry's embarrassed and flushed face for a moment before breaking out into a wide smile. "It's no problem." 

If at all possible, Harry turned an even brighter shade of red. 

"The two of you are insane, you know that?" They heard Ron shout from behind them as he was finally released from his bonds. "I mean… I was more than willing to help you guys chase after Ginny's plant… but you tied me up!" There was blatant accusation in Ron's voice… with good cause. 

"Oh, come on, Ron… at least we have the plant, and it won't be terrorizing the students anymore." 

"It hadn't been terrorizing the students in the first place! It was trying to get away from you!" 

Draco and Harry detangled themselves slowly, Draco's touch lingering on Harry a bit longer than casual. It was Harry who got up first and helped Draco to his feet, the both of them smiling at each other with amusement at the argument going on behind him. 

"Are your friends always like that?" Draco asked. 

"Only most of the time." Harry replied, trying to fight his blush away. "They have their calm moments… sometimes." 

Ginny was attending to her plant, and for a moment Harry almost felt sorry for the potted creature when it seemed to shrink back away from the girl, especially after the redhead huffed and conjured up robes to tie it down. But then Harry squashed down the pity, remembering how that stupid plant had been terrorizing him. 

Remembering Ron and Hermione's argument, Harry added in, "It was terrorizing _me_." 

Hermione seemed pleased. "See? It was my duty as Head Girl to make sure that the plant would not be running amuck when it can disturb students in such a way!" 

"Hermione." Ron tried to put in a word. "That's only Harry. I doubt the plant would go after anyone else. Things like this _always_ happens to Harry, and _only_ Harry." 

Harry wanted to protest, but shut his mouth when he realized that the statement was true. 

"Charming friends." Draco drawled out, trying to hide a smirk at Harry's distraught. 

***

Tonks had just received a message from Dumbledore when she was called out again to help the elves try and hide the expanding magic of the faerie kingdom. She had raced through the forest that hid the area that belonged solely to the faeries, seeking out her long-time friend. 

A glimpse of dirty-blonde hair halted her. 

"Luna!" Tonks shouted, pushing her (currently) long pink hair out of her eyes. "Dumbledore says that he's going to be sending Draco back tomorrow morning… along with Harry Potter. We're only going to have to hold the spell for one more night." 

The elvish princess had not turned to look at her friend, but only stare in concern as images flickered in and out of view before her. This was a disaster. The magic was rapidly being drained, and already she could clearly see the outer borders of land to the large castle. She had thought that the elves would be able to hold onto the spell for just a while longer, but it seemed that she was wrong. 

It was a good thing that Harry Potter was being brought tomorrow. It seemed that he already knew just about everything he had to know, since the illusion spells were faltering so. The more that the faerie prince knew, the more of the kingdom would be revealed. 

Luna had not thought that he would learn everything so quickly, though. She had wanted him to be at the faerie kingdom while he was learning of his past, so that he would directly be able to see the truth behind what he was learning. But it seemed that not everything happened the way she wanted it to happen, as she was frightened by the idea that the Dark Lord would already know where the kingdom was. 

"We should be able to hold the night." Luna said confidently, finally turning to meet the ex-Auror. "But please… bring him here immediately the moment that the two of them arrive." 

Seeing the grim look on the elf's face, Tonks could only nod. 

continued on chapter 9

**Authoress' Notes**: I'm taking next week off. ~_~ Sorry to everyone else... but I just can't keep up with my own schedule when it's hard enough to find time on the computer. I want some time off this story to write some oneshots and concentrate on _Vigilae Mortuorom_ for a while. I reckon that I've spent enough time from the other story, and can finally write for that again. LOL. So I'm going to try and have another chapter out for _Vigilae Mortuotum_ soon.

I know... this was an extremely short chapter. ^^;; But chapters have been harder and harder to get out... hence the small break. Hopefully it'll start getting longer by the next chapter! All responses to reviews are once again in my LiveJournal. ^__^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I'll try to fit in the scenes that you want! Hopefully, I'll be able to have an extra long chapter next time to make up for missing next week. *blows kisses* 


	9. Now a New Adventure will Start

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
It was only after lunchtime and after Ginny had gone off to her Herbology class that Harry finally got to talk with Ron and Hermione. They had been heading up towards Charms before Harry suddenly remembered that he _still_ hadn't done that short essay for Charms. Then he also remembered that he didn't have to go to classes that day. 

"Hold up, you guys." Harry was rummaging in his bookbag, hoping against all hopes that yes, he had somehow done his homework in his sleep. His two best friends halted in their conversation, stopping in the middle of the corridor and glancing back at him curiously. 

"Something the matter, mate?" Ron asked as he watched Harry grimace when reality finally hit him. 

"Uhh…" Harry started, "Professor Dumbledore already excused me from classes today. I forgot to tell you this earlier, but I'm going to be taking a trip tomorrow… so I'll need to go pack…" 

"A trip?" Hermione asked, her voice suspicious. "Does this have something to do with Voldemort?" 

"Something like that…" Harry murmured under his breath, but then smiled when he saw his friends stare at him. "Only partially. Ehh… think of it as… we're going to find something that might be able to defeat Voldemort!" 

Gah. That sounded like a horrible excuse. 

"And you're going alone?" Hermione asked. They had gone through things like that before, of course. Not to the extent that Harry should have to leave school (they always did say that he was safest at Hogwarts) but there had been periods of time where Harry had been tutored by one or more professors for training. Harry never thought of it as special treatment. It was something that he had to do, so they were preparing him for it. 

"Not really." How could he tell them that he was going with Draco? 

Harry fidgeted nervously under their stare. 

"Are the professors going with you?" Hermione continued to ask, slightly concerned by Harry's uncertain response. "You should be left alone… especially when Voldemort is still at large. There are professors going with you to look for whatever it is, right?" 

Umm… that was something that Harry didn't think would be happening. Headmaster Dumbledore certainly made it sound like he and Draco were going there alone… although he did state that they would meet people there. How was he going to explain this to his friends, though? 

A dim idea in the back of his head told him to just tell Ron and Hermione everything. They were bound to find out sooner or later, anyway. They always did, after all. 

But then there was the thought of Ron blowing up knowing that he was going with Draco… with no escorts. 

Harry didn't want that to happen. He remembered when Ginny had wanted to go with Seamus on a summer trip- and he really, _really_ did not want a repeat of that episode. Poor Seamus still cringed anytime Ron was too close to him. 

And Harry's feelings towards Draco were tenuous at best. He didn't want Ron to scare the blonde off. 

It was only after a little while that both Ron and Hermione figured out the answer in Harry's silence. 

"Harry?" Ron prompted. "What's going on?" 

Harry's mind whirled. His best friends were starting to look suspicious now, as Harry twisted the strap of his book-bag in his hands. Damn it. He never was good at lying, so he usually stuck to half-truths if he could. That way, it was never a lie. 

"Professor Dumbledore gave me the day off," he explained, trying to sound casual, "so that I could pack for a trip that he's sending me on tomorrow. The professors won't be accompanying me, but I'll probably have a full escort when I get to the planned destination." He attempted a weak smile. "It's just another one of those 'foil Voldemort's plans' annual thing." 

His best friends didn't look fooled. 

"There's something you're not telling us." Hermione stated blatantly. But she was forced to stop talking when a quiet shrill rang in the air, and her eyes went wide before she pursed her lips. "Fine. We'll leave you be since we have to go to Charms. But I expect to get a full explanation from you after class. Don't even think about going anywhere before we get the full idea of where you're going, who you're going with, how long you'll be gone, and how to contact you while you're there." 

"You method of traveling and why you're going would be preferred as well." Ron added, making Harry chuckle nervously before the dark-haired boy realized that the redhead sounded quite serious. 

Harry blanched. "You make it sound like I've been grounded." 

"You don't come back safe and sound- you will be." Hermione promised before she dragged Ron off to their class. 

Harry could only shake his head after them. 

***

Draco took a deep breath before he whispered the password to the lady guarding the Gryffindor dorms. Despite him knowing that the password was correct (he had to thank his exceptionally sharp hearing and Longbottom giving it off by accident for that), the vampire thought for a moment that the portrait was not going to let him in. The lady dressed in pink seemed to stare at him suspiciously, pursing her lips and contemplating on whether or not to allow him entrance. 

Knowing that the portrait was only doing its job, the Slytherin waited patiently for her to inspect him before reluctantly opening up the door to the Gryffindor rooms. 

"Just make sure that you don't disrupt anything in there." She warned him as he passed. "Or you're never coming in again- and the Headmaster will be informed." 

Not knowing how to respond, Draco ignored her, sharp grey eyes darting around the red and gold room to look for the boys' dorms. He didn't want to accidentally go up the girls' rooms and set off the alarms, now, did he? 

He was glad that the dorms were empty at the moment, as it seemed that everyone either had class early that morning, or they were out doing something more productive than staying inside their dorms during a sunny day. Gryffindors certainly weren't like Ravenclaws or Slytherins… 

Having decided which staircase to go up, Draco touched the walls near the stairs tentatively, trying to find the magical energy that had been so uniquely Emerald. He had tried that before many times… but had never been able to find one to match Emerald's magical signature. Now that he found Harry, he should be able to sense the other boy, though… 

Still no magical signature that matched Emerald's. 

Reaching the seventh year boys' dorms, he pushed through the door that had been kept unlocked, still pondering as to why he couldn't sense Harry. Had his memory of Emerald's magical signature faded during the years and he had been searching inadequately the entire time? Or maybe it didn't work because Emerald was still asleep inside Harry? 

The dark-haired boy in question startled as felt Draco's presence, immediately spinning on his heels and pointing a wand menacingly at him. Those wide eyes were hidden by the green glasses that Draco heard Hermione had conjured for him. The tinted glass hid any emotions that Draco was sure Harry would normally never be able to hide. 

The vampire held his hands up passively, smirking just the slightest bit. "Jumpy today, Harry?" 

Harry narrowed his eyes at him before relaxing the dueling stance he had taken. "You startled me." 

"I'll have to remember not to do that, then." Draco said amiably. "If that's always your reaction to being startled." 

Green eyes watched the vampire smile at him, before settling on the bag he had been trying to pack. Harry resisted the urge to give out a huge sigh and just plop down on the bed, and maybe screaming into the pillow. Instead, he sat gingerly on his own bed covers, eyeing Draco warily. 

Draco took the liberty to come a little closer, sitting down on the bed next to Harry's. (Hmm, Harry thought absently. Must not tell Ron about Draco's little visit.) The Slytherin looked at the large bad for a moment before commenting, "You won't really need anything for the trip." 

Deep down, Harry knew that Draco was right. He never needed anything much besides his wand and perhaps an emergency portkey. It wasn't like he was moving house or something… but packing certainly gave his hands something to do so that he could keep his mind blank. The Gryffindor boy knew that all the packing he did would be undone by himself before dinner came around. It was just something to do, that was all. Just like occupying himself at the Dursley's. 

"Is there something that you needed?" Harry asked, unsure of what Draco was doing in his dorm. 

The vampire's eyes followed Harry's slightest movement for a few moments before he shook his head. "I just wanted to see how you were doing… how you would be handling this. You don't seem very shocked about everything." 

"I'm not." Harry responded surly. "It's hard to be shocked when you're me." It was true, after all. Being 'Harry Potter' meant that he had just about anything and everything happen to him. Most of the information he had dealt with in his life was unpleasant (with the exception of finding out that he was a wizard… except that information might be unpleasant if he thought of it in retrospect… after all, it was then that he learned Voldemort had murdered his parents and was after him next, and that the fate of the wizarding world rested upon his shoulders. Yes. Harry supposed that he had dealt with more shocking information before) and he had never really been shocked before. 

With the exception of finding out about the prophecy in fifth year. But Harry accounted that to shock over Sirius's death, and not shock that he would die if he didn't defeat Voldemort. Deep down, he had already deduced the answer to his fate, anyway. 

"Yes." Draco replied, still holding the green eyed boy under his scrutiny. "I… seem to forget that at times." 

Harry's breath caught slightly from where he was sitting next to Draco. Was this an admission? Was this Draco's way of saying that he didn't remember the boy next to him was Harry Potter? Had he been in any other situation, Harry would have been glad of that. He had always wished to fall in love with someone who would not love him for his name… someone who could at times forget who he was and only know that they loved _him_. 

But the situation now was too different. Draco could mean that he only thought of Harry as Emerald, as a beautiful faerie prince who was good and kind and could do no wrong. 

Harry was not a good and kind person who could do no wrong. 

"I forget that your life has held so much danger before." Draco continued before Harry could try and read _too_ much into the earlier statement. "I had wished… hoped, actually… that I would find you in time to protect you from everything. I wanted to give you a perfect life." 

_A perfect life, eh?_ Harry snorted. "You'd have to have been there before I was born." 

The serious moment seemed ruined as Draco tilted his head and grinned at Harry. "I was there before you were born… remember? I was there so far back that I knew you in a past life." 

Surprised at how nonchalant the vampire was being, Harry couldn't hold back a rough bark of laughter- the type of laughter that wasn't there because a situation was funny, but because you thought it was too damned ironic for someone up in the heavens not to be getting a good laugh. "And I guess you found me in this life, huh?" 

_You found my heart again after the war, battered as it was. Find me again, my love._

Draco wasn't sure what he could say. He remembered the last words that Emerald had said to him, and he had dreamt of the day he would fulfill that request. And watching those green eyes, watching that familiar sparkle and gleam which the boy next to him smiled tentatively, Draco wanted nothing more then to be able to love this boy forever. 

"Yes." He breathed. "I guess I did." 

He had wanted to find Harry and protect him all his life, but now Draco realized that he had not had Emerald to himself all their lifetimes either. He had met with Emerald shortly before the war, and it was after the war that they had realized how much they needed each other. 

"What are you thinking of?" Harry inquired, reaching out a hand to tuck Draco's hair more firmly behind pale ears before he withdrew, not knowing whether that action was appropriate when he was trying to distance himself from the Slytherin until they could get everything worked out. Harry wanted Draco to want him for _him_… not because he was famous Harry Potter… but not because of a past incarnation, either. 

But Ron had said that Draco deserved a chance to know Harry. And Ron was right, as always. Harry really hadn't given the blonde much of a chance to know him. But even having said that, Ron would kill Draco if he knew that Harry was leaving with him. Alone. 

"I was thinking about how much I love the sound of your voice." Draco responded, only encouraged by the brush of red that stained Harry's cheeks after that comment. "How… although the sound of your voice is different, the way you speak: the tones and dynamics… they're still the same as before. I was wondering how come I didn't notice that." The pale vampire reached out to clasp the hand that Harry had brushed his hair with before, and pull it close to his heart. "And then I was wondering… how I didn't notice your familiar mannerisms. You have the same grace… the same movement. Sometimes it doesn't show when you're on the ground… but I've seen you fly before, and I was thinking about how I should have notice that exceptional fluidity in your skills." 

"Mannerisms don't make a person, Draco." Harry said softly. 

"No, it doesn't." Draco agreed. "But I know with all certainly that you are the missing part of me I've been searching for. Just like I know that your favorite color is green… not the Slytherin green that promotes so much pain in your eyes… but the first green of spring to indicate that life is coming back after the harsh winter. And I know that you long so desperately for your family and that you have an extraordinary skill in Herbology you hide to make your friends feel better. I know that you eat your food in a clockwise manner, putting all the vegetables on the right side of your plate so that you could rid of that faster and then eat something you really wanted to. 

"Like I know you never had trouble gaining respect from animals, whether it is that they want to kill you or help you. That you'll always sleep curled up on the left, but always wake on your right side. Be it the big details or the little ones, I already _know_ them." 

"And you got all this… from observing me the last few days?" Harry asked on bated breath. 

Draco smiled, covering Harry's hand with both of his own. "Partially, yes. But most of it is because you're much more like Emerald than you think. I remember all that from when I used to observe my prince… and every detail I'm remembering fits perfectly with you." 

Harry blinked. _Every detail I'm remembering fits perfectly with you._

With… _you_. 

It wasn't Harry that fit into Emerald's perfect image, but rather, the other way around. 

The small Gryffindor felt the start of a wide smile coming on, and leaned into the other boy, leaving his hand on Draco's chest, but covering the entangled hands with the side of his neck, resting his face against Draco's shoulder, shifting so that he would be turned against the skin of Draco's neck. 

He felt Draco stiffen just slightly underneath him. "Harry?" the Slytherin asked, and the dark haired boy could feel the rumble in the taller boy's chest as the sound came out. Pale hands withdrew for a moment before wrapping themselves around the Gryffindor. 

"Shut up." Harry murmured, his tone belaying the harsh words. "Shut up and just… be here." 

Draco had already said what Harry needed so badly to hear. It was something that Harry could now put to rest so that he could concentrate more fully on the battles ahead of him. On the trip he would take tomorrow, on the plans to defeat Voldemort before the Dark Lord could kill him. Those words had eased something inside Harry's soul that he had not know was tensed. 

The arms around him tightened for a moment to reassure the small boy, and Harry began thinking of how he would get through the next day… or heck… even today. How was he going to tell Ron and Hermione about this impromptu trip? 

Harry chuckled against Draco's neck, and he could feel the others boy's confusion as he said: 

"Ron's going to _kill_ you." 

* * *

It was nearly dinnertime when Harry and Draco emerged from the Gryffindor tower, much to the curious glances of the random student that had wandered the halls at that time and seen the two of them together. Draco had laughed when he realized what Harry had meant by the statement, but humored the other boy and promised to stay away from his friends until the green eyed Gryffindor had a chance to calm his best friends down. 

They tended to be a bit… overprotective, he tried to explain with a straight face, not wanting to sigh in the middle and let Draco know how exasperated he was with them. It was not something that he was overly proud of, but it _was_ glad that his friends cared so much. 

Just not used to it. Probably would never be used to it. 

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Harry waited anxiously for his friends to arrive, wondering distantly what Ginny got on her Herbology project. He really hoped that the plant was disposed of in one of Professor Sprout's various greenhouses. Locked up, maybe? Just far, far away from anywhere he was. 

Harry shuddered slightly at the memory. He couldn't believe that Ginny would chose to do a project on such a vicious plant. 

More and more food began to appear on the tables as more and more students were dismissed from their classes to go to dinner. There had been a few surprised glances that Harry was at the table that early, especially without his other two best friends, but no one commented on it. Harry, for his part, was watching the doors to the Great Hall with rapt attention, trying to figure out how to phrase things without Ron protesting too much to Harry going off with Draco. 

Honestly. Harry made a face at himself. Even in his thoughts, his phrasing made it sound like they were going to elope or something. 

Ron's voice was what Harry heard the first, and then Hermione's, arguing back about one thing or another. Harry couldn't see even the heads of his best friends' long after he could hear them. The dark haired Gryffindor watched with amusement as the other two of the Gryffindor Trio came to sit with him at the table, still arguing about whatever it was that they so disagreed with. 

Luckily, they hadn't asked for his opinion on it yet. 

"Yeah, they act just like an old married couple, alright." 

Harry turned to his other side and smiled as Ginny sat down as well, plopping her book bag under the seat so that she wouldn't be scolded for putting her things on the seats and no one would trip over the long straps of her bag. 

"Good evening, Ginny." Harry greeted pleasantly, making sure to sound extra cheerful to make Ron and Hermione sound immature with their fighting. "How was the rest of your day? Did you get a good grade in Herbology?" 

Ginny grinned back, catching on to Harry immediately. "I had a great day. I'm not sure what Professor Sprout will give me for my project grade, but she did say that she had never seen the species of plant quite so large before. I think that's a good sign." 

"Oh, good." Harry commented absentmindedly. "I don't suppose she'd just leave it in the Forbidden Forest?" 

Ginny's grin grew wider. "Why? Hope to encounter it again when you go wandering off?" she teased. 

"No, I hope that it'll be eaten by one of the acromantulas." 

"Spiders don't eat plants, Harry." Hermione piped in as she set a textbook down on the table so that she could eat. "Spiders drink blood, you should know that." 

"Although by the way it was acting, it sure seemed warm-blooded to me." Ron joined in, snickering at Harry for a moment. 

Harry tried to give Ron a hate-filled glare that Snape had given him more than enough times for him to learn it, but somehow managed to come short as the redheaded boy started chortling with laughter. 

"You still haven't told us about where you're going yet." Hermione inputted calmly from where she had served herself a generous helping of lamb stew. 

Right. That. 

"I went to Dumbledore this morning," Harry began, keeping his voice low so that it would most likely be lost in the murmurs of the crowd unless someone was listening to him specifically, "And apparently Voldemort's going after this weapon of mass destruction so I have to get to it before he does." 

"Well, that's definitely not your usual training." Ron said, sounding just a mite disturbed. "It sounds like something you'd come to me and Hermione for." 

"Yes, it does." Hermione agreed, not bothering to correct Ron's grammar. "It sounds like something we should come along for." 

"Yes. I think we should go with you." Ron said adamantly, and Harry rolled his eyes, realizing that there was another reason for Ron being so firm about running headfirst into danger. 

"What about NEWTs?" 

"You're much more important than a few tests, mate." Ron put in quickly. 

Hermione gave her boyfriend a dirty look. She really should have realized by then that he was so enthusiastic because he wanted to escape her heavy study sessions. "Ron! The NEWTs will be a very important part of your life! This is the last big test that goes on our record before graduation, and it just might define who you'll be when you're older! You should care more about it- especially when it's only two months away!" 

"Are you saying that Harry isn't more important than your tests, 'Mione?" Ron mocked outrage. "How could you even _insinuate_ such a thing?" He made sure to put an emphasis on the word that Hermione herself would have liked to use frequently. Harry could only guess that Ron had said that to sound smarter, but the redhead somehow made the statement sound more sarcastic instead. 

"I never said that," Hermione sounded slightly insulted. "Besides… these end of year adventures we have always end up with one or more of us in the infirmary. So we can use that time to get down to studying our material. We have a lot of things to cover, after all!" 

Harry made a face at the aspect of spending time in the infirmary. And Hermione had made it sound so nonchalant… as if she honestly had no qualms about herself or her best friends getting hurt. Quite a change from the younger Hermione. "Are you saying that the near-death experiences we all had at one point or another now makes good study time?" He asked dubiously. 

"I'm not saying that it's good to get hurt all the time." Hermione amended. "But it's certainly free time that we can use to our advantage! Think about it… it'll certainly give us an upper hand to have all those hours to review over material!" 

Oookay. Hermione really had lost a few of her marbles. It certainly sounded like she was looking forward to getting hurt so that she could have time to _study_ instead of attending all the class review sessions (which the bushy haired girl had dubbed as 'useless', especially since there was so many people who needed remedial help that the professors really couldn't cover the hard topics that really needed to be covered.). 

"Ehh… that's okay, Hermione." Harry tried to reassure her, not at all liking the idea of being sent to the infirmary just so he could study. He tried to smile at her, but knew that he failed when he saw Ron's expression for 'she's crazy!'. "You guys don't have to come with me. Draco's coming with me." 

Yes. If he and Draco were the ones to go, then Ron and Hermione wouldn't get hurt. That meant that they wouldn't be recovering in the infirmary with him, and it meant that Hermione couldn't force him to study the entire time. 

Harry realized that his thoughts had gotten quite morbid when he started agreeing with Hermione of how the adventure would end up with a trip to the infirmary. 

Poor Harry should have realized something was wrong when he didn't hear a protest from his best friends, but it took him a while before he could look up at them, so lost in thoughts was he. When he did, though, the twin expressions of shock made Harry realize that something was wrong. 

Hermione was the first to snap out of it. 

"You don't want us to go with you… but you're going with _Draco_?" 

Um… uh-oh. 

continued on chapter 10

**Authoress' Rambles**: Sorry about spending so much time without a chapter, and spending so many words trying to ensure that Draco loved Harry as _Harry_. But I once read a Gundam Wing story which changed my entire outlook on romance stories when the main character stated that he didn't want to fall in love because it was _fated_, but because he had _fallen in love_. I don't know. My phrasing is awful, but it really made me think. Is it _really_ that romantic to be destined together? Doesn't putting the idea of fate and destiny behind love sound kind of... final? Like neither of them had a choice in that matter? I know you don't have a choice in who you fall in love with, but...  
Anyway, ignore me. Sorry for having this chapter out so late. Life's been pretty hectic, the weather's getting way too hot, and I haven't been feeling well lately. :X The worst thing is that I know I shouldn't eat or drink anything cold, but it's been so hot lately that I can't help it, so now I'm paying the price for it. ~_~;; Arg. Definitely not feeling well. Hope you guys liked this crappy chapter. 


	10. With New Friends and Enemies

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
Hermione had been having an off and on day in general, waking up cranky and later in the day getting quite mellow. She wasn't sure if she could label the day as a 'bad' day or as an 'okay' day. It wasn't as if she really had anything that upset her a great deal that day (with the exception of Ron- but Ron always upset her, and she had learned to deal with it.) and she _did_ have quite a memory to cherish from when they tied Ron up as bait, after all. 

As well as Colin Creevey's film. But Ron didn't need to know that. 

She had been quite shocked after lunch when Harry had finally seen it fit to inform his _best friends_ that he wouldn't be going with them to classes because Dumbledore had already dismissed him. Of course, Hermione suspected that Harry didn't want to go with them not because he needed time to pack (what would Harry pack, anyway?) but because he hadn't finished that report for Charms that she had reminded him about the day before. 

Her mood had improved as the day wore on, answering question after question correctly in Charms class, much to the dismay of the Ravenclaws. Sometimes Hermione wondered how it would have been like if she had been sorted into Ravenclaw- she had always felt so challenged and alive in classes with the Ravenclaws. It was as if she had the members of that house had a personal competition to get everything correct in class. 

Neither side took it very harshly whenever they lost, but it was fun nevertheless whenever they could find a comeuppance with one another. So Hermione had been relieved when she managed to "win" the match for that day. 

She had actually been in a pretty good mood when she had gone into the Great Hall arguing with Ron about one thing or another. She didn't even remember what it was about anymore, and that had only been just a few minutes ago. 

"You guys don't have to come with me. Draco's coming with me." 

Hermione nearly dropped her fork when she heard that. It wasn't a statement that she had expected to hear at all. Weren't Harry and Draco just starting to be friends? Like… just starting to get close to each other? 

_Definitely_ not close enough to be going anywhere alone together! 

One glance at Ron told Hermione that he was thinking the same thing. Maybe it was because they _were_ a bit too overprotective of Harry… but she figured that they had a right to be! Especially since Harry had gone through so much already… she readily paired him up with different people if she could, and teased him as well, but truth be told was that Harry had never gotten involved with anyone after he and Cho broke up. 

Hermione didn't think she would have minded had this been something more like a 'date'… she would have been all for it, in fact. But this was one of Harry's _adventures_. The type that she and Ron got involved in every year. (With the exception of fourth year- but then, they did get involved a bit… only not in the very end, because they couldn't.) Hermione would have encouraged Harry and Draco at every chance possible- but this was just different! 

The bushy-haired Gryffindor girl watched as Harry seemed oblivious to what he had just stated. He didn't seem to understand what was wrong with her and Ron that made them so still. And Hermione couldn't say that she was too surprised. 

But she broke out of her thoughts soon enough, blinking for a long moment. "You don't want us to go with you… but you're going with _Draco_?" 

_They_ were the ones who went with him every year. Even if there were more people (like the Department of Mysteries in fifth year), _they_ were the ones who were with him first and foremost. They always went with him until they couldn't go anymore… and then Harry would trek on alone. Not that Hermione wanted him to go through the final battle alone… she was determined each year that he would have his friends with him the next time he went on one of those adventures. 

But… to not have her and Ron there? And _only_ be going with _Draco_? 

Harry seemed to have understood what was going on in Hermione's head as a guilty expression ran rampant. He held up his hands before him, scooting away from her slightly on the bench. "It's _really_ not what you're thinking, Hermione! There's a lot more to this than you know right now!" 

Ron seemed to have snapped out of his shock by then as well. "And… _we_ don't have to come with you?" 

Harry looked even guiltier at that. "I knew I should have phrased that differently…" 

"More to this than I know, how?" Hermione demanded, wanting to know the entire situation. She was just itching finger her wand like she was doing this morning, and wanted to know exactly what was going on. "I think it's time you told us everything, Harry." 

The dark-haired boy looked sheepish and abashed for a moment, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "How about I'll tell you everything after dinner? This place is a bit crowded, after all." 

Hermione set down her eating utensils. "Well, I'm not hungry anymore. I say we go back to the Gryffindor common room and have a nice, long discussion." 

"Wait a minute!" Ron yelped. The redheaded boy did not look like he was getting from his seat anytime soon as he hunched over his gathered plate of food, giving Hermione a hurt look. "You might not be hungry, 'Mione… but _I_ am not going back until I've had something to eat. Gee, I've only been tied up as bait and whacked around by you all day." He tried to glare at her. 

She out-glared him, and Ron wilted, but didn't give in. 

After a few seconds of glaring, Hermione sighed and turned to see Harry fidgeting on her other side. "Fine." She said. "But we're having that talk after dinner! And there will be no other interruptions then!" 

* * *

_The great fire that burned in the inner courtyard was beautiful. The sparks of red and gold flew into the air with a speed and grace that startled even the ever elegant faeries who danced near it. The edges of the great fire was tinted with a greenish blue, the result of the purified wood that had been doused with chlorine and coated with copper just that morning. Occasionally the flames would turn and dance with a green color that was so reminiscent of their prince's eyes that all the faeries would stop to admire it. There were other times when the sparks that flew into the air resembled green fireflies. _

Emerald often wondered how the fire would feel. Would it be proud? Having such creatures dance around it in reverence, in this sacred ritual that the faeries undertook when they were to be bonded… would the fire feel honored? Were the sparks signs of happiness that could not be contained? 

Or was the fire angry? Angry that it must be contained and controlled this way, appearing only when called upon and having to fade away when the ceremony was over? The wilderness that was displayed in the untamable flames, the intensity and passion that could often be love could also be the very strong emotion of hate and fear. If the fire had feelings at all, would the sparks strike out in anger at being forced tame? 

The night air was filled with a wild magic that was known only to nature- one that would not be controlled even under the hand of the most powerful magical being alive. The powerful song of flutes and drums and choral voices permeated the air, making the strong winds swirl around them in a mad dance that felt so very alive. 

Emerald closed his memorable eyes to fully enjoy the feeling of the flames on his face as he joined in people in the dance, in the celebration of another pair of united souls. He knew that he would die soon. With his coronation only a few moons away, Emerald had no illusions to his future. 

He raised his arms in the air, feeling the ground underneath his bare feet and the dirt that was kicked up by the other dances. He raised his face into the night sky, never once opening his eyes, but instead smiling towards the stars as he allowed the rhythm and music to govern his body. For one of the few times in his life, Emerald allowed himself to forget about the circlet on his forehead that ensured to that he would never be able to let his guard down. 

Emerald opened his senses to the wild magic surrounding the night, letting it fill him and swirl in the depths of his very being. The bonding ceremony meant that no one would be sleeping that night, as everyone would be up celebrating and dancing to the new couple's luck and fortune, as well as their fertility. The music would continue on until the next nightfall, although it would get more and more soothing after the sunrise to represent the harmony even after the passion fades. A bonding ceremony meant for celebration from nightfall to nightfall, representing the death of an old life until the death of their new life. With the population of the Sidhe Seelie faeries so small and their lifespan so long, there weren't many bonding ceremonies to attend. 

He allowed his feet to escape his thoughts, taking him in great circles with the other dances around the great fire. Here was the passion that was represented in the dance, the utter conviction that there was nothing else as important as this, that one could lose themselves so immensely in something or someone. 

He wanted to be able to lose himself. He wanted to forget all about his responsibilities, about his imminent death, about ways to ensure that the faerie line of his people would continue on. Draco had once joked that Emerald only needed to get someone pregnant, so that even after his death, the royal line of the faeries would continue on. Emerald certainly hadn't taken the statement as a joke, instead turning horrified at the prospect. If there was one thing that the faeries would not do, he had informed the poor, misunderstood vampire harshly, it was to take a bonding casually. In order for an heir to be produced, there had to be a proper bonding ceremony to entwine two souls together. 

That was a long time ago. 

Emerald smiled slightly at the memory, knowing that Draco would be out tonight, watching out for him. The vampire childe was like his personal bodyguard, really. He never seemed to leave the prince's side. At that very moment, Emerald knew, Draco would be watching him. 

It was with bitterness that Emerald moved his pace up, dancing faster and faster around the bright green flames. He could both hear and feel the sparks near his face, dangerously close to his hair, as he twirled at such a speed it would make normal observers dizzy and concerned for his safety. 

Another spin brought him out of the circle of dancers, and into the louder music that was reverberating in his head. The faerie prince finally opened his eyes to the bright colors of the clothing the dancers around him wore, and smiled brightly in response to the dark scowl that was covering the face of the very person he was thinking about. Draco Malfoy stood at the edge of the celebrations, arms crossed tightly over his chest and glowering at anyone who tried to look his direction. It wasn't hard to deduce that the vampire childe was not the type for such a wild and egregious celebration. 

Yes, Emerald thought with amusement, everything had to be prim and proper for him. 

The slight faerie prince made his way through the crowd easily to appear next to his closest friend, his amusement only growing as the glare was turned on him. "And why aren't you joyful for the couple on their happiest night?" 

Draco was unable to keep up the glare for long in the face of Emerald's patient smile. "I think there are enough people being 'joyful' about this." 

Emerald didn't respond, instead turning back to face the groups of well-wishers who were singing or dancing their hearts out. He had forgotten that Draco had never attended a bonding ceremony before, since there had not been one for many years. 

It didn't help that the war had taken the lives of many of-age faeries. 

"There are never enough joyful people." Emerald finally replied, making up his mind. He turned back to the blonde vampire, grinning at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Slipping his hands into those of his friend's, Emerald started pulling Draco toward the throng of people, laughing as the vampire childe actively tried to pull away. 

"You will never feel magic as during a bonding!" Emerald admitted, "And during the bonding ceremonies, it's said that those who partake in the celebration can feel just a hint of the happiness that the couple are experiencing. That the actions of those today will affect the lives of the couple until they day they both die. You wouldn't want to create a dark cloud in their lives, would you?" 

Before Draco could properly open his mouth to protest, he was surrounded on all sides with music and the feeling of giddiness in the air. He could only manage a sharp intake of breath before Emerald pulled him closer to the fire, illuminating the pale face with the bright flames. 

Here, there was the hint of passion that would signify the happiness of a lifetime. Here, was the sweet agony of being so close to temptation, but having someone to pull you from the edge of the fire. Here was where Emerald could once again lose himself in the fantasy that he was not doomed and he would not be expected to come up with an answer and solution to everything. Here was where Emerald could pretend that the people were dancing in celebration of his bonding ceremony, something he knew that he would never see happen. 

He was supposed to be wise and mature. The faerie prince was kind, compassionate, and understanding to all. He would never be allowed to panic, never be allowed to grieve for his stolen childhood and his dark and empty future. But it was in the midst of the magic that Emerald allowed himself tears of happiness and sorrow for all that will happen, and all that had come to be. 

"Dance with me." He commanded in a low, husky tone in Draco's ear. The vampire shuddered before wrapping his arms around Emerald's waist, complying with his prince's every wish. 

* * * 

"Harry?" 

The young Gryffindor in question blinked, and finally tore his eyes away from the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room. "Yes?" He replied dazedly, still not too sure of where he was and what was happening. He knew that he had just remembered something important, like a huge report that he had due the next day which he hadn't started on… but the more he was coming back to reality from his thoughts, the more elusive the memory was. 

Hermione and Ron sat in the couches of the abandoned common room, but looking a trifle vexed. The fire was glowing brightly in the red and gold draped room, and highlighting the faces of those who sat next to it. Harry decided that the fireplace could certainly make his best friends look quite demonic in their own form. He wandered distantly if they should try having a fireplace near them the next time they fought with Voldemort. Maybe they could just scare him off. 

Or not. With his luck, the old V-man would look much scarier under the light of the fire than anything Ron and Hermione could pull off. 

But looking at their frustrated faces, Harry quickly amended that. Ron and Hermione could be pretty scary onto their own right. 

"The whole thing with you going off with Draco," Hermione started, her voice stern like when she was lecturing or tutoring either of them in whatever work they had missed. She leaned forward in her seat, placing her elbows in her knees while she looked hard at her best friend. "_How_ did this happen, Harry?" 

How _did_ it happen? Harry wasn't so sure himself. There had been that pull from the very beginning, the fascination with Draco even before they had first talked. But he had thought it to be normal, thought it off as a high amount of curiosity about the new kid. Now Harry knew that it wasn't the case. There was definitely a pull that Draco exhibited that seemed to spellbind Harry to him. 

"I don't know." He admitted. "But… everything just seems to fall together with him… just as it gets more confusing." The poor boy shook his head as he stared into the fireplace. "He told me so many things that made sense about my life, but gave me more questions as well…" 

"He told you things about your life?" Ron prodded. "What kind of things? Is he somehow involved in the war? In the prophecy you told us about last year?" 

Harry shook his head 'no'. "He's not involved in this war… at least, not until now. And he's not part of the last prophecy I told you about. But… he _is_ part of another prophecy." 

Ron looked like he was about to interrupt and ask more questions before Hermione settled her hand on his arm to stop him, and smiled reassuringly at Harry. She gave her boyfriend a quick glance to placate him, and said to Harry, "You need to tell us about important things like that. Or else we'd continue to bug you about it, because we're never going to go away." 

Harry fidgeted. "It's just… this other prophecy? It's kind of… unbelievable, if you will." 

"As unbelievable as everything we've been through?" Ron asked with a grin. "Giant chess sets, a basilisk under the school, escaped prisoners out for your blood, fighting dragons from broomsticks, and tentacled brains trying to eat us?" 

"It wasn't trying to eat you, Ron." Hermione inputted absently. 

"Well…" Harry rubbed the back of his head. "It's a little more difficult than that." 

And looking at his best friends then, who were gazing back at him expectedly because they knew they would always be there for him even if he didn't tell them, Harry wondered at all his early reservations. Why had he hesitated to tell them again? No matter what, Ron and Hermione would be the ones to support him. 

So Harry started telling them what Draco had told him that night they met (was it only a few days ago? It felt like an eternity) and all the information he had gleaned from the blonde. He admitted that yes, Draco was a vampire- that was why he had lived so long, and that no, Draco had never tried to hurt him. Then he moved on to the things that Dumbledore had said, which filled in the gaps for all the whys that Voldemort had in creating the _first_ prophecy in the first place. 

And when he ended his story, the two best friends of his sat shocked on the couch before him. 

Harry sat in uncomfortable silence as he watched his best friends anxiously. 

"This… this is a lot of information to be learning the last few days." Ron finally said quietly. The redheaded boy glanced over at Hermione, and saw the same grim set in her features. "How do you know you can trust Malfoy? Based on all this information, that is. We've learned all about the end of the faerie lineage, remember, mate? Their last war was against the dark creatures… if Draco Malfoy is a _vampire_-" 

"He would never have hurt the faerie prince." Harry cut in. "It's easy to see… Draco would never have advocated the other side in that war." 

"How do you know, though?" Hermione finally spoke up. "How can you be so sure and trusting?" She shifted in her seat, giving her dark haired best friend a strange look. "I know that you wouldn't think of it this way, Harry, but sometimes I think you're too trusting for your own good…" 

Harry didn't think so. He could barely stand to trust anyone at all, especially with Voldemort out there and the war going on behind the Ministry's back… 

"I'm _not_." he protested vehemently. "But I _do_ trust my instincts on this. Draco wouldn't hurt me. He's telling the truth about everything. I don't know how everything came to be like this, but I do know that even though it's strange and bizarre and unbelievable… he wouldn't lie to me like that." 

Hermione looked like she was about to protest, but then changed her mind. She crossed her arms over her chest firmly to let Harry understand that she wasn't so sure of his conviction. "Fine. I won't argue with you on this. But just so you know, we're going along with you." 

"Wha-? But Professor Dumbledore-" 

"I really don't think he even thought that we would stay behind when we knew you were going off on one of these heroic, must-save-the-world-or-at-least-the-wizarding-world expeditions." Hermione inputted. "We have to make sure that we beat back all the minions first, remember?" 

"And make sure that Draco Malfoy doesn't get fresh with you." Ron said. 

Harry sputtered at the last comment. But then, what had he expected? He thought to himself. It was much better than the reaction he had thought they would have, and he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

He supposed that leaving them behind so that he could have an adventure alone with Draco was a selfish idea, anyway. 

Hermione clapped her hands together. "Well, then! It's settled. We should all turn in now, seeing that we're going to be leaving early tomorrow morning! Get some rest before we change head first into this new adventure of ours. We need all the strength available, after all. Especially considering that we barely got any sleep last night!" 

She threw in a blazing glare at Ron's direction. 

"That's not our fault." Ron grumbled, getting up from his comfortable position on the couch. He stretched a bit, grimacing at the kinks in his neck. "If anything, you should blame Ginny for letting her plant lose. We should have been given an award for putting up with and catching that thing." 

"You have your reward- Ginny's high marks." Hermione placated. 

"Yes, I suppose marks are the most important thing to you." Ron grumbled. The redheaded looked back when he realized that his other best friend hadn't been following them. "You coming, Harry?" 

Harry shook his head in exasperation, but smiled to himself. Although it certainly got annoying at times when his friends seemed to make all his decisions for him, there were times when he knew that they made all the best decisions, and that he just shouldn't argue with them. 

"Yeah." He replied. "I'll be up in a moment." 

* * *

Draco was waiting inside the Headmaster's office anxiously the next morning, after a short talk with Dumbledore. The old wizard had informed Draco that Harry's friends would surely be going with him (as Dumbledore just seems to know everything that goes on in the castle, Draco didn't doubt what he said) and that the vampire should be aware of what to do. 

He should be aware of what to do. The only problem was that Draco's _wasn't_ aware of what to do after the thought: _protect Harry at all costs!_ He had read the prophecy over many times, yes, but while Luna's wording was as good as the best seers in the world, her phrasing of the return of the faerie prince was vague due to the fact that it was so far in the future. And the fact that she's a child, of course. 

So he was sitting alone in the Headmaster's office, seeing that he was the first to arrive. Draco felt silly with a small glass case held in-between his hands and rested firm on his lap. He had debated all night whether or not he should give it back, but in the end his original decision won over. 

He traced the name engraved onto the glass with his fingers, letting the skin barely register the cool, uneven wedges where the letters met together in a beautiful calligraphy script. 

_Camthalion Lessien Coamenel-Súrion_

He had to stop thinking about Emerald. Harry seemed to be bothered by the past, so Draco did not want to drudge it up for him until the dark-haired Gryffindor was well and ready to handle it. But it was painful starting over when there had been nothing wrong with the relationship to begin with. He had thought about all the times Luna or someone else had told him that it would be fun to start over again, this time knowing exactly what _not_ to do so that he didn't make any mistakes in the relationship. 

The only thing was that he had never had any mistakes with Emerald before. And Harry seemed… different, somehow. The same soul and the same heart, yes, but Harry was certainly not the persona to be the faerie prince. There was a fire and determination in Harry that had always been repressed with Emerald, buried deep underneath the need to be perfect for everyone else. 

Draco perked up when he heard footsteps and talking outside the office, and sat up straight when he heard the correct password being said, and the sound of people in the spiral staircase that led to the room. He could distinctly here the Headmaster's footfall along with those of three others; one that he was sure was Harry's. 

It took only a moment before the Professor Dumbledore guided his students in his office, eyes twinkling all the while behind half-moon glasses. "Ah! Mr. Malfoy- you are punctual as usual. It seems that you are all ready to go on this trip of yours." 

Behind the Headmaster was a grumpy looking redheaded boy that looked like he certainly did not get enough sleep, a bushy-haired girl scrutinizing him in the most meticulous way… and his Harry, who looked sleepy and adorably dazed, but still managed to summon up a dazzling smile for him. 

_Mine?_ he asked himself as soon as he thought then, and soon amended. _No, not mine. A spirit like that doesn't belong to anyone, instead it roams free and chooses who it wants to stay with._

"I assume that Mr. Potter has already debriefed the two of you on his situation?" Dumbledore asked the other two Gryffindors gently, and smiled when they both nodded. "Good, good! This makes it much easier to send you all on time. In fact, I'd say that we're all a little early- but then, you can never be too careful." 

"Excuse me, Professor," the bushy-haired girl (Hermione Granger, Draco remembered correctly. She's Head Girl and one of Harry's best friends.), "How are we going to the faerie kingdom? It's certainly unplottable, and most likely has anti-apparation spells on it." 

"My dear girl," Dumbledore replied. "The transport is all provided for by the elves." He rummaged through the top of his messy desk for a bit, and then pulled out a small, leaf shaped device. "This will work as a timed portkey for all of you, taking you directly to the middle of the faerie kingdom. Of course, it can't take can't you directly into the castle- that's something that you will have to do yourself, but it certainly does help the travel method, doesn't it?" 

There were a few mumbled and hesitant agreements, as if they weren't too sure about it. 

"The portkey is scheduled to activate at eight this morning- meaning you have a few minutes before you'll be off. It would be wise to use these minutes to familiarize yourselves with who you're going to be fighting alongside." 

The old wizard gave Draco a pointed look, and then turned that same look on Ronald Weasley. 

There was a few silent moments followed by shuffling sounds from Harry's direction before Hermione finally dared to approach Draco, looking both nervous and determined. She stretched out her hand to him with a stiff but unwavering resolve, looking very much the part of a perfect diplomat. "I'm Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to finally get to talk with you." 

Draco stared at her hand for a moment. A few hundred years ago, he wouldn't have stooped that low to even touch her. As his sire would have sneered out _mudblood_, Draco had gone out of his way to avoid having to deal with muggles and muggle-born. While he didn't hold the same animosity for them as his sire did, he had never felt comfortable around them- and felt as if they were inferior beings trying to extort their confidence by threats and weaponry. 

Not now was not a time that he could hold onto his prejudices. 

He grasped her hand firmly, mustering up a smile. "Draco Malfoy." 

She looked about to say a snide reply, before staring at him intently and finally just settling for a nod before she withdrew her hand from his. Draco looked over to where Harry was standing slightly behind Ron, a small smile on the green-eyed Gryffindor's face. 

Harry gave Ron a small nudge with his shoulders to try and get the redhead to be a little friendlier. 

Ron grunted from the nudge, and turned a weak glare at Harry, then sighed when he saw the boy glare back at him. He finally turned back to the rest of the room, mumbling out an introduction to who he was and how 'glad' he was that they could work together. 

All in all, his little speech sounded like something that Harry and Hermione had written for him and made him memorize. 

Finally, Draco turned his head toward Harry with an impish grin. "Well? Do we need an introduction?" 

"I don't think we should 'introduce' ourselves to each other in front of them." Harry teased, eyes gleaming and happy even from behind his tinted glasses. "Might not be proper." 

Ron let out a strangled noise, while Hermione admonished, "Harry!" and the Headmaster pretended that he didn't hear what his students had just said. Draco grinned outright at Harry's daring, feeling his day brighten knowing that Harry wasn't too worried about the tension between his friends and Draco. 

"All right, then," Headmaster Dumbledore interrupted cheerfully. "It's time to go! Now if you would all join hands to make sure that none if you are left behind… yes, just like Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy… and then off you go! Good luck to you all!" 

Draco held Harry's hand tightly in his, trusting that wherever he ended up, he would be where he was supposed to if he was at Harry's side. 

There was a bright flash of light, and a familiar tugging behind his navel before the Headmaster's office disappeared from before his eyes. 

continued in chapter 11

**Authoress' Rambles**: Wow, that certainly took a long time... sorry, guys! I hate to say- but it's going to have a take a long time from now on. One, because the chapters are getting longer, and two because of way too much schoolwork. I hope to get a large chunk done when spring break rolls around, though, so it might not take forever after all! ^_^ 

This is finally the beginning of the countdown to the end of the story. Thanks for so much encouragement from chapter 9! ^_^ I was surprised by the number of people who commented on what I said... O_O you guys actually read the author's note! O.o;; Reponses too all my reviews are in my LiveJournal, and the link for that is in my ff.net profile. ^__^ Thanks so much to everyone!! 


	11. To Fulfill the Prophecies

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H! 

  


**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera

  
  
They arrived in chaos. 

The moment Harry opened his eyes, expecting to be slightly sick with nausea from the journey (he had never liked portkeys, but the hatred of them had only increased after fourth year), he was greeted with an extraordinary sight. He was oddly reminded of when he had seen Hogwarts for the first time, and how that breathtaking view had left him absolutely speechless and in love with the school the instant he set eyes on it. 

It was moments later when he realized that there were people rushing around all about him, and that it was only because of Draco holding him steady that he wasn't already knocked over. 

Ron didn't seem to notice that havoc around them at all, still gaping at the sight before him. 

"It looks like something straight from a fairy tale…" was Hermione awed murmur. Her eyes were widened and also glued to the view, taking in the steeping towers and beautiful gothic arches. The many towers ended in needle-points high up in the sky, its delicacy making it look like a strong gust of wind would be able to topple it over, much like many of the shops in Diagon Alley, only with more grace. 

It was a picturesque scene with beautiful forests and landscapes in the background, if not for the many creeping vines that spiraled its way around the beautiful castle, looking like chains holding the delicate towers from collapsing. The vines looked old, thick and strong to a point that it looked impossible to ever get those vines off the castle. 

"Faerie magicks." Draco explained in a hush voice. "With all the faeries asleep, the vines would ensure that constructions all over the kingdom don't collapse with the sudden lapse in magic." 

Harry could only manage a numb nod, eyes trying to focus on the scene before him. With a frustrated growl, he finally took off his glasses after a few moments, bringing up a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose, trying his best to dispel the gathering headache. 

It was only then that Ron and Hermione realized what was going on around them when they nearly fell over when the ground around them started to shake violently. The dim and muted background noises suddenly registered to all of them when they started hearing spells being yelled out and exchanged back and forth. 

Ron gave out a yelp and shoved Hermione to the ground, shielding her with his own body as he saw several spells aimed at where they were just a moment ago. Draco dragged Harry out of the way as he also focused on what was happening around them, not wanting to be crude enough to the push Harry to the ground, but eyes darting about furiously to make sure that he would be alright. 

There were people rushing all around them, dressed in light grey cloaks with their hoods pulled firmly over their heads, each either carrying something or helping people with blue cloaks shoot spells at an opposing enemy that none of them could yet see. The ground was scorched and black, with clumps of half-burnt bushes and trees to block offending spells from coming in. Although the sky was a beautiful blue, there were already small fires starting and clouding up the air with the acidic smell of smoke. 

It looked like a battleground. 

There was a small figure in a deep blue cloak that came their way quickly, head bowed to try not to attract attention from the opposing side. The person reached them quickly, and crouched down next to Ron and Hermione, throwing off the hood to reveal a pale face surrounding by spiky, hot pink hair. "You guys from Hogwarts?" 

They stared at her, making her fidget as sounds of fighting continued around them. Finally sick of being the object of their scrutiny, she snapped, "Look! I don't have time to play around. We're barely holding back the Death Eaters as it is. I'm supposed to show Draco Malfoy and his group into the castle." 

"That's me." Draco confirmed. He seemed to be finally coming back to his senses, and tried to subtly put himself between Harry and this new person. "Are you the guide that Luna sent?" 

The girl nodded her head. "Name's Tonks. I'm the official ambassador sent to negotiate land with the elves… but also the head of this group of Aurors here." She fumbled around in her cloak. "Princess Luna said that you would be arriving, but she never said you would be so late…" 

"We arrive precisely on time." Draco retorted, sounding offended that someone would accuse him of not arriving to anything on time. 

There was a groaning sound as the tree they had been hiding behind rapidly caught on fire, and some of the weaker branches teetered dangerously as the leaves were immediately consumed by the flames. 

Tonks grabbed a hold of the back of Draco's robes, and dragged both him and Harry behind another row of more stable bushes, Ron and Hermione quickly scrambling up to follow them. It was only seconds later that several branches broke off from the tree and crashed onto the ground which they had been standing previous. 

Hermione stared in horror. 

"Don't have much time." Tonks muttered as she watched a group of Aurors dispatch into the open field to try and get a more secure area. She turned pale eyes back towards the group. "I'm just here to inform you of the details. Draco- Luna said that you should know your way around the castle, so I don't have to tell you where to go. The rest of you should know about what You-Know-Who wants, so I don't have to tell you to _get to the throne at all costs_. There a dragon guarding the entrance of the castle gate, but I don't doubt that the Death Eaters would get past the dragon if they were given time." Her eyes darted back to her people as a tree a few meters away fell down completely from the fire. 

"A dragon?" Ron's eyes were wide. "You want us to get past a _dragon_?" 

"Not want." Tonks amended, her eyes turning back to the kids before her. "Need. I know you to get past the dragon before the Dark Lord's forces do. You have the get the faerie throne!" 

This was all starting to sound like one of the video games that Dudley used to play. Harry wasn't sure how they were supposed to defeat the Death Eaters even if they got the faerie throne. What then? 

Maybe he shouldn't think that much ahead. 

Tonks' pale eyes bored into Harry's. She seemed to see his insecurities and doubts in one swoop. "The return of the faerie prince signifies the end of the prophecy. If Emerald reclaims the throne, then the faeries who pledged themselves to his service at his birth will be freed. If the throne is claimed by the Dark Lord, then the faeries will not awaken until Emerald is reborn in another future life." 

Draco grabbed onto Harry's hand when Tonks said that, his lips set into a grim line. Harry stole a glance at the vampire, wondering if Draco would wait another few hundred years for him if he lost. What if he died? Would he drag the prophecy on forever and ever? He really didn't want to think about that. 

Tonks handed Hermione a small device. "This is for communications. Don't contact me unless things have gone seriously wrong, and you are in desperate need of backup. I'll only contact you if the Dark Lord gets through our forces. This is a just in case type of emergency, since there is no other way to communicate once inside the castle. Portkeys and any other magical transportation items are all automatically disabled. 

"I can get some of the elves to cover you until you reach the castle." Tonks was saying, "But from then on, you'll have to be on your own." She gave them a slight nod, and then a lopsided grin. "Good luck to you guys. I trust in Princess Luna. I'm sure you guys will do fine." 

* * * 

Several minutes later, the group was waiting by the front side of the castle, letting some of the Aurors to go in before them to make sure that things were safe. Or at least, get through the heavy maze of vines first. They were going to be the only ones going into the castle. 

Both Hermione and Ron were situated deep in a crevice created by the patchwork of plants, having been told not to attract any attention at all until they were ready to go in the castle. Draco and Harry were doing the same, waiting nervously for the Aurors to finish up so that they could continue on. 

Harry especially couldn't stop moving, his eyes darting from one area to another as his muscles tensed sporadically in anticipation of a fight. He was too used to being in the middle of the actions, even if the adults were trying to hold him back. He was always involved somehow despite the older wizards not wanting to endanger him. 

But now he realized how it must have felt for his friends to have to be the one that waited. If anything, it was as bad as being in the fray, if not worse. The tension that surrounded the four of them was tangible enough to be cut with a knife, and Harry knew that it was only going to hinder them later on when they really did start jumping into the battles. 

Ron and Hermione seemed reluctant to start a conversation, or to do anything other than wait and save up their energy, so Harry knew that he would have to try and build a bridge between his best friends and the one person who was really starting to grow into his life. 

Another explosion in the distance, and this time they all held their breath to make sure that there would not be any more explosions… especially closer to their area. 

After a few seconds, Harry let out his breath and with a heavy sigh and looked up again at the clear sky. It would have been a beautiful scene if not for the background shouts and curses, and the creeping of smoke that was starting to cloud the distant edges of his vision. 

Wait a minute. 

Harry frowned up at the sky, wondering why things looked slightly different. He thought he had gotten used to the green tint that everything seemed to hold since Hermione had changed his glasses, but the sky looked… 

Blue. 

Blinking, Harry patted his robe pocket where he had placed his glasses right after they had arrived. He remembered that his eyes had irritated him, so he had taken off his glasses to rub at them. Or was it a headache? Whatever it was, it was gone now. 

And… he could see perfectly. 

That was odd. 

"Are you _sure_ that we were supposed to wait here, Malfoy?" Hermione was asking nervously. She was hopping from foot to foot, eschewing Ron's balance when he tried to hold her down. 

Draco nodded, also looking queasy the longer he stood still. 

Harry sighed. Oh well. Things like that always just seemed to happen to him, so he was resigned to let things happen. Besides, he should be glad not to need glasses, right? Why look a gift horse in the mouth? 

"So," he spoke up after having thoroughly thought out what just happened to him. Harry turned to his left slightly, smiling at Draco. "Since we seem to have nothing to do… how did we first meet? Formally, that is." 

Draco looked taken aback. "Ehh…" 

_Surprised grey eyes swung around to stare at him in blatant shock. "You? You're the faerie prince?" _

Emerald bristled slightly at the disbelief in the vampire's eyes. Inside the courtyard of his own castle, his parents had welcomed the fugitives with open arms, going off to have a talk with Princess Luna and leaving their son to deal with the vampire whom had accompanied her. Emerald knew that he was expected to be the perfect host, so he refrained from saying something extremely biting back at the vampire childe. 

"Is it that hard to believe?" He asked shortly, unforgettable eyes glued on the foreigner. He clasped his hands together in front of him, frowning when the pale boy gave him a disbelieving look. "I know I may not look like much, but appearances can be deceiving." He recited from his lessons, glad that he remembered something useful. "Isn't that how it is in the outside world as well?" 

"The outside world?" The blonde paused in where he was examining some of the exotic plants that spotted the courtyard. Emerald bit his lip to prevent a torrent of questions from rushing out. He had always been a curious child, and it had always been his curiosity and his mouth that got him into trouble. His people had always forgiving him for any unintended rudeness, but the outsider might not be so forgiving. 

Emerald watched as the blonde boy studied the stability of many of the pillars that supported the castle, tapping the glass-like structures with the tip of his fingers; as if afraid they would fall over if he applied too much pressure on it. The faerie prince himself was seated at the edge of the shade of trees, leaning back into the castle. 

"The outside world is much crueler than you can know." The vampire said. "I doubt you even know the full meaning of that phrase." 

Which phrase? Appearances could be deceiving? Emerald frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. "I know what it means." There was a brief hesitance before he continued timidly, "It means that you shouldn't be fooled by looks because looks doesn't make a person." 

"It also means that you shouldn't trust even the best of intentions," The blonde said plaintively, "because there is always an ulterior motive." 

Emerald's frown only grew deeper, not suiting his kind demeanor at all. "That's not true." He rebutted. 

The vampire snorted. "You wouldn't think so." 

Such rudeness! "What are you called, anyway?" 

Those grey eyes looked up from examining several rainforest flowers and turned amused as they gazed at him. "Draco Malfoy. I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier, seeing as to how you were falling all over yourself attacking Luna with questions." 

Emerald shifted in his seat, contemplating the sound of that name. Draco Malfoy. It was such a strange name. Did all outsiders have names like that? But then… it wasn't that strange to name a child 'dragon'. It was the abruptness of the name that sounded strange on Emerald's tongue. "That's a strange name." Emerald said honestly. 

Draco scowled. "Isn't it usually polite to introduce yourself after someone tells you their name?" 

Name? Outsiders sure were strange… why would he have told his own name to someone he just met a few hours ago? "You haven't earned the trust to learn my name." There was an odd silence that Emerald took as hurt from the other boy. "But… I am called Emerald." 

"Emerald?" Draco scoffed. "That's such a girly name." 

The faerie prince scowled back, imitating what Draco had been doing earlier. "It's not girly. Emerald is a color, a gemstone. How is that associated with girls?" 

The vampire blinked at the honesty. "Colors and jewelry are always associated with girls." 

"How are they always associated with girls? Boys have color and jewelry too." 

Draco bristled slightly. "I can't believe you're the faerie prince. I heard that the prince was actually mature and insightful- you don't seem to be either of those. You look like a little girl_." _

Despite that insult having never been used in the faerie kingdom before (there was no discrimination between boys and girls there, after all- both genders held equally dangerous positions as warriors or healers), and the fact that most faeries looked androgynous anyway, Emerald could tell by Draco's tone that it was meant to make fun of him. "I do not!_" _

The pale vampire narrowed his eyes at him. "You do too. You're short and small and have long hair… and… you have skinny chicken legs!" 

Emerald gaped. He wasn't short or small! He was already considered pretty tall for a Seelie faerie! And…. And… and!!! "There's nothing wrong with long hair! And I don't have skinny chicken legs, you jerk!" 

Draco looked triumphant. "Ha! If 'jerk' is the best insult that you can come up with-" 

"Insolent albino bastard of a hunchback and Unseelie! Misbegotten son of a snow demon with funny hair!" 

Funny hair?_ Draco steamed, opening his mouth to give a sharp comeback, when- _

"Emerald!" The faerie queen gaped as she stepped into the courtyard after having excused herself from the meeting with the elven princess. "Where on this earth did you learn language like that?!" 

Surprisingly, both boys looked extremely guilty. 

"Let's… um… not talk about that right now." Draco squirmed a bit, but managed a smile at Harry. "I swear I'll tell you all about it later. Just… not right now." 

Harry snickered, and ventured a guess, "Did you say something you weren't supposed to?" 

Draco declined to answer, as at that moment they saw the Aurors cast a spell that meant it was safe to go on. The small group looked at each other, then moved forward as one, Draco in the lead and Ron taking the rear, making both Harry and Hermione feel more than a little frustrated. 

The fanning of blue robes seemed to start moving away from the castle, leaving the four of them to themselves with the cleared passage of the entrance like a foreboding augury. The once beautiful courtyard that led to the entrance looked dead and deprived of the spirit it once held, and Harry couldn't help noticing the areas of dead plants as they passed. 

Anyone who looked would be able to easily tell that the place used to be wondrous. 

Draco rushed through the courtyard, not giving the place a single look or thought as the other three stared at the delicately carved stones with fascination. He headed straight for great doors, wasting no time in pushing them open and urging the others to get through the threshold and abandon the wonderment of the dead courtyard. 

Once they were all inside, Draco pushed the doors closed once again, muttering a spell under his breath to hinder the progress of whoever was trying to get in after them. It wouldn't delay a person for long, but at least that would give them a few extra seconds should they need it. 

Ron was staring up at the high vaulted ceilings in awe, eyes darting over the walls covering liberally with paint and pictures of the past. The entire place was covered with dust, so much that you could see the swept pollen clearly in the sunlight that streamed from the tops of the towers, coming in neat rows to fill the room with brilliance and sparkle. 

Hermione sneezed. 

"This place looks like a tomb." Harry said quietly, his voice low in reverence of the scene around him. Green eyes darted around. "Either that, or a gothic cathedral that's been abandoned." He shivered. "With ghosts and all." 

"It doesn't matter." Draco spoke up. "We have to get going- we might not have much time." 

With that, he grabbed onto Harry's hand and marched forward through the multiple layers of dust, leaving Ron and Hermione little choice but to run after them. 

"Draco-! Not so fast!" Harry struggled to get his hand out of the vampire's grip, finally managing to yank it out after a few moments' struggle. He glared at the blonde in front of him, flexing his fingers to make sure that the blood circulation started up again, since Draco had held on very tightly. "What are you trying to do, yank my arm out of its socket?" 

Then Harry got a look at Draco's face, and softened. The vampire looked extremely tense, face pale with his lips in a firm line. Draco looked like he would have rather been anywhere but there at the moment, and Harry immediately felt guilty for how harsh he was just a moment ago. 

"Sorry." Draco muttered, swallowing thickly. "This place just holds too many memories, that's all." 

The raven-haired Gryffindor resisted the urge to sigh. It really wasn't Draco's fault, but he was making the situation very tense with his tangible nervousness. He waited for just another moment for Ron and Hermione to catch up to them, and then asked, "Fine. Which way to the throne room, though?" 

Draco nodded his head towards their left. "That way." 

Harry nodded, and was about to go down the dark passageway before Hermione held out a hand to stop him. He gave her a questioning look. 

"Just hold on a moment, Harry. I wanted to confirm something ever since we got inside here, but then you two had to go running off… you might not want to march into the situation like this unarmed." 

The green-eyed boy took another look at the passageway, "What do you mean, Hermione? It certainly doesn't look too dangerous. And we're on ground level, so there's little chance of us falling into an underground passageway without knowing something like that could happen." 

Hermione shook her head, and yanked Ron closer to her. "Not that. But this entire story of yours is a little clichéd, in my opinion. And coming here to see a fairy tale castle covered in dangerous vines and a battle raging outside? Tonks _did_ warn us about a dragon." 

"So we'll be careful. Don't be loud and don't attract this dragon's attention. She said that it was guarding the entrance- but we didn't see a dragon at the entrance, did we?" 

Hermione gave Harry a pointed look, and then deliberately looked down the darkened passageway leading to the throne room. 

Harry's followed her eyes. "Oh." 

"Yes, _oh_." 

"Granger's right." Draco stated, face grim. "I hadn't really given it much thought before… but this is a dragon conjured from elvish magic. That's a little different from the dragons that you're probably used to. Your magics won't work on it." 

"What do you mean our magic won't work?" Ron asked warily. 

"Elvish magic and wizard magic cancel itself out. That's probably why there are Aurors outside to fight the Dark Lord's forces- because the elves can't do it themselves. Most magical creatures with the exception of dark creatures use wild magic, whereas wizards use high magic. Those two magics just aren't compatible." (1) 

Hermione seemed subdued, probably remembering that from several of Hogwarts' lectures. "I'd forgotten about that…" 

"That means that we have no weapons and that we have to face off with this elvish dragon before we can get to the throne room." Harry summarized. "That's... not good." 

"Wild magic has the weakness of being hard to control, though." Hermione recalled, crinkling her forehead. "Does that mean that the dragon wouldn't be able to control magic like normal dragons?" 

"Pretty sure." Draco confirmed. "But that doesn't exactly help if we're trying to get past it… unless anyone bothered to bring an invisibility cloak with them?" 

Harry made a face. 

"Didn't think we'd be getting past a dragon." Ron grumbled. He had his arms crossed across his chest, and a thoughtful look on his face. "We can't use magic to fight this dragon, and we don't have any weapons either." 

There was a great explosion sound that drew all of their attentions. Harry startled and whirled around, hand already going to his wand. Draco was ready to push Harry behind him, stopping only at the last moment. Hermione and Ron gave each other knowing looks, tensing as the sounds of shouting and cursing started echoing in the hall. 

"Does this mean that the Aurors didn't hold them off…?" Harry ventured a guess. 

"We've got to get to the throne before Voldemort does." Draco stressed, turning again. "I really don't think we can worry about the dragon right now." He eyed the corridor warily. "Now the biggest decision between a rock and a hard place…" 

Death Eaters or a dragon…? 

Harry resisted the urge to sigh. This really was getting repetitive. His entire life got down to these moments so much that it seemed like a fiction story. What if it was? He thought to himself. It would certainly be interesting. 

But then, he was a Gryffindor. And he was supposed to get through the dragon in order to get to the throne room, anyway. 

So… dragon it was. 

"Come on." He said to Ron and Hermione. "It's not like it's the first time we've run headfirst into danger unarmed." 

* * * 

continued in chapter 11

1. I forgot where I read that. It's in a whole bunch of different fantasy books, I'm sure- that humans who can wield magic would use high magic, which is controlled... and magical creatures use wild magic, which is untamed and uncontrollable. Does anyone remember where this is from? 

**Authoress' Rambles**: Arg. I'm sorry about how sucky this chapter was. Especially the ending. Can't think. Was supposed to end this story after they were _done_ with the dragon, but I found that I can't write lately and I think I'll write that scene when I'm more in the loop. ^^;; As for the flashback of when Emerald formally met Draco? ^^;; Sorry- but I was longing for something really cute and fluffy. *laughs* They're much younger when they first met, remember? It doesn't matter what age they are, age and maturity don't always go hand-in-hand. *points at several friends for example* And it was before the war, and both of them had been pretty spoiled. ^^;; Hope I made at least one person chuckle at their antics, though! 

This chapter seems kind of rushed. ^^;; That's because I'm not good with action scenes, or even scenes that lead up to actions. I should just stick to angst and fluff, huh? I used to be good with action scenes, but that talent has lost itself somewhere. LOL. Anyway~ I love all my reviewers!!! *kisses* All responses will be up by Monday on my LiveJournal- please comment!! 


	12. And Take Back Old Memories

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. sighs To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! wishes very, very hard 

Summary: AU. A "faerie" tale with elves, vampires, and reincarnation. Draco's a transfer student who arrives at Hogwarts during Harry's seventh year, trying to fulfill a promise made nearly a hundred years ago. But what is this promise and does it have to do with Harry? D/H!

**Last Enchantment**  
Shamera 

Harry and the others raced into the darkened hallway, fear clinging to the edge of his senses. Although his eyesight seemed to have miraculously improved, it didn't help the fact that there was still little to see in the darkness. He could hear the footfalls of his friends behind him, Draco especially as the vampire was so close that Harry could feel the tiny wisps of breath tickling the back of his neck.

He wondered where Luna was. Harry had thought that she would have been part of the fray outside, but Tonks had mentioned that Luna was gone. Perhaps into the castle? Perhaps somewhere safe where the Death Eaters couldn't have gotten to her?

It didn't matter. He had his own mission to complete. He had to think of a way to get past the dragon so that he would be able to get to the throne before Voldemort did.

There was a light at the end of the corridor where it curved off into a doorway.

"Hey, maybe there's no dragon here after all!" Ron exclaimed when they all saw the light. He sounded relieved, but just a trifle cautious in case what he said came back to taunt them.

The sounds of the statement bounced off the walls of the hallway, much louder than their own footsteps had been, and rumbled deep into the doorway and corridor which they were in. The three others turned briefly to glare at Ron, making the redhead take a few steps back, but then widen his eyes as a giant shadow started to show up.

It was the snorting sounds that first all Harry's attention.

The shadows on the wall were huge, with sharp teeth gnashing at each other and bat-like wings, flapping every once in a while as claws slashed in the air. Ron gulped audibly, grabbing on tightly to Hermione's hand and his wand despite knowing that his magic wouldn't help him much. But despite the horrendous warning on the wall, all four of them only looked at each other before resigning themselves to go forward and not turn back for the Death Eaters.

"If we don't come out of this alive," Ron said nervously, "then I need to proclaim for a last time that I love Hermione and that if Malfoy ever hurts Harry, I will haunt him forever."

"Don't be melodramatic," Hermione muttered. "We'll all be fine." But even she was eyeing the shadow wearily, edging back from the gigantic proportions of the teeth.

"I'm not being melodramatic," Ron protested halfheartedly. "Everyone knows that Harry's the hero, and Draco's the significant other, so it's always the sidekick that gets it."

"That's not funny, Ron." Hermione insisted, but her heart wasn't in it as her eyes stayed steadfastedly fixed on the silhouette on the wall.

The four of them almost audibly gulped, before Harry dared a look at the others, trying to put on a brave face while he thought furiously of how to defeat their recent obstacle. A dragon that wouldn't be influenced by their magics, but instead followed faerie magic… how were they supposed to defeat that?

A gigantic roar drew their attention towards the shadow on the wall, and their eyes remained glued on the end of the corridor as the shadow drew nearer… and nearer…

"Is it just me, or is the shadow getting smaller?" Ron stage-whispered. Hermione nudged him sharply in the ribs, but held up her wand in an offensive position, jaw set in a way that didn't allow for her to respond.

Harry didn't want to get his hopes up either, and brandished his wand as well, taking a brave step forward, determined that they would get through whatever they were facing. Draco made a disgruntled noise as Harry surpassed him, reaching out to grab at the dark-haired boy's robe.

"If we can't affect the dragon directly, maybe we can charm items around to help us." Harry muttered, as the dragon gave another roar. "We could always make use of the conjuring charms Professor Flitwick taught us…"

They all visibly tensed as the dragon first came into view, snarling and snapping its jaws together irritably. The dragon was a scaly grey, with near glistening bat wings that stretched out at least twice its length.

But that wasn't saying much, considering that the length of the dragon wasn't very great to begin with.

Ron made a noise in the back of his throat. "This… THIS is what we've been afraid of? It's no bigger than a hatchling! Is this the dragon we were supposed to pass?"

The dragon snarled its answer, huffing small puffs of fire. Hermione nearly cooed as the dragon shook its head vigorously, as if trying to dislodge something stuck in its throat. The small thing was perhaps two feet long, with tiny teeth that while sharp, wouldn't do much damage against them.

They took a moment to look at the dragon, who was still huffing the breaths of smoke but not as violently now, looking for all the world like it was about to sneeze. Draco was the first to break out of their trace as he grabbed for Harry's hand, proclaiming, "Let's not discount this blessing and just go past it."

Harry bit his lip and nodded his agreement, eyes still on the tiny dragon standing in their way. He took a step forward, expecting even that small thing to fight back and try to burn him alive, when to his surprise- the dragon ducked its head, looking rather sheepish.

"What's happening?" He could hear Hermione whisper behind him to Ron, and could almost feel Ron's shrug in response.

"Come on," Harry said, his voice hardly louder than a whisper for fear of gaining the dragon's attentions again. But instead, the grey-scaled dragon was looking at him passively as he passed, pulling his companions along with him.

It took a moment before Harry was able to turn the bend of the corridor, and was greeted by gigantic doors before him, curved from a form of wood that he had never seem before, silvery-white in its brilliance and detailed with images of forest creatures and creatures of myth. He paused for a moment before reaching out a hand to touch the cool wood lightly, feeling the grooves and indents under his fingertips and wondering at the workmanship that would be involved in the making of this simple door.

Draco didn't seem to have the same reservations about intruding past this door, though, and reached over Harry's shoulder to push over the doors, giving the small boy a nudge to go inside. They were at the very end now. They were here in the throne room, and the Death Eaters would be too late to stop them from waking the faerie kingdom.

Inside was a cavernous room, airy and filled with not so much as a speck of dusk to diminish its brilliance. The same silvery-white wood that had been used to make the door also made up the simple, yet elegant, throne in the center of the room, lighted by an open window up high to let in the weak sunlight. Dark green vines seemed to appear from the middle of nowhere to curve itself around the arms and back of the throne, making it look beautiful and wild in a classy and tamed room.

"Is that it?" Harry asked, not knowing what else to say. _Is this the end? Have we won?_

"Yeah." Draco breathed behind him, the wisp of air making its way to Harry and making him shiver. "This is it."

Harry took a few steps towards the throne, reaching out a hand to touch the silvery-white wood of the armrests, and sucked in a breath when he felt a… _presence_ brush against the edge of his mind. It was almost a reverent touch, which pushed against his senses and welcomed him.

A crash and roar in the not-so-far distance caught their attentions again, and Harry spun around to see the shadow of the small dragon which had guarded the corridor roar and strike at something in the distance, and sounds of curses and spells that were shouted ineffectively.

"They're here!" Draco cried, and pushed Harry towards the throne. Ron was backing up slightly towards then and away from the doors of the room, taking Hermione with him. "Hurry!"

He wasn't sure what to do, but Harry scrambled into the seat of the throne, settling himself down in the cool wood and placing his arms on the rests, suddenly feeling very stupid. If this didn't work, then what would they do?

As soon as his arms, settled on the rests, Harry's world became a blur.

* * *

_"Mother?" _

_The tall woman standing with her back to him stilled for a moment in the middle of her talk with someone else, and then turned her head to glance back over her shoulder, offering a gentle smile. For a moment, Harry was sure that he was seeing Lily Evans-Potter, with her waves of red hair and those sharp green eyes. _

_In another moment, though, the vision seemed to dull and it look to be someone else standing where his mother should be- someone with hair more brown than red, eyes more amber than green. The features of the woman looked similar to his mothers, but something was still wrong- something was off. Harry was sure that his mother never had that careful posture and stance, one that spoke of elegance and glamour and nobility. _

_That strange image seemed to disappear again as Harry blinked, toddling his way over to his mother, watching the beautiful smile and those kind green eyes as she opened her arms to him. He barely reached her waist level, but still must have been too heavy for her to pick up so easily like that, too heavy for her to balance so carefully on her hips. _

_"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked, those eyes checking him over once not only to make sure that nothing was wrong, but that he was also immaculately dressed. It would not do for the prince of the Seelie Faeries to have mud stains on his sleeves and grass stains on his posterior, after all, Harry knew. He had to resist the urge to stick a finger in his mouth, knowing that he was far too old to be behaving so childishly now. _

_"Father didn't want me in the study, so he told me to bother you instead." _

_Lily (or was it Lily?) laughed lightly, her eyes twinkling as she smoothed the bangs away from Harry's face. It was in that moment that Harry saw her to be wearing a long, elegant dress and tiara, and couldn't understand what she would be doing wearing that. Was there a costume party that he didn't know about? _

_"Have you finished your lessons for the day, then?" she asked Harry, and watched as he nodded enthusiastically, grinning at her in expectation of playtime. "Everything?" she asked again, this time teasing. "You're sure of that?" _

_Harry opened his mouth to give her a detailed summary of what he had done that day, only to falter as something finally hit him. _

_His parents had died before he was old enough to study anything. Before he was this big, and before he could talk so well. _

_As that thought came to him, the image of the smiling Lily-who-was-not-Lily started to fade away, the feeling of her arms holding him in such a motherly embrace turning cold as Harry realized that his mother wouldn't be wearing a dress and tiara. His mother didn't have the amber eyes or reddish-brown hair. _

_The background of the faux memory he had was also starting to fade, leaving him immersed in darkness, but still able to see himself. _

_He looked down at his hands, and then realized that those hands did not belong to a child anymore, not the child he had been just a few moments ago. Those hands were those of a hardened teenager's, one who had seen the housework for the Dursleys for many years. Gone was the light clothing he had been wearing, the ones he had given thought of when he was running and playing, because he was not supposed to get the clothing dirty. _

_But I never had clothing like that before, Harry thought dazedly. I've never played with other children like I had in these memories. _

_"Maybe not in this life, you haven't." _

_Harry whirled around, all the fuzzy feelings clouding his thoughts disappearing as he realized that he wasn't alone in this darkness at all. His eyes narrowed as he tried to find where the voice had come from, in this infinite darkness of his mind. _

_"Who's there?" He demanded, mild nervousness growing into a full-blown paranoia as a light chuckle answered his question, sounding like it had come from all the directions and nowhere at all. _

_Biting his lip against the onslaught of adrenaline that coursed through his bloodstream, Harry stretched out his arms, feeling for anything around him. He didn't have his wand with him here, and there were no weapons to use that he could perceive. _

_"You shouldn't get worked up over me. I'm not dangerous." _

_"Who are you?" _

_There was a brief silence that answered the next question, before light was suddenly flooded into the world again, and Harry cried out as he covered his eyes with both arms, trying to dispel the sting and brightness that seeped through his lids. _

_"Do you recognize this place?" _

_It took a few moments before the stinging in his eyes reduced, and Harry allowed himself to peek from the safety of his arms, and was suddenly assailed with all his other senses. _

_There was the distant music of birds chirping in the blue sky, of leaves whistling as the wind swept past and gave Harry goose bumps as he shivered slightly in the cold. The sun was shining brightly, half concealed by the cover of dense storm clouds, promising a light shower sometime later in the day. For the most part, the sky was still blue and the grass beneath him so green that it could only be spring. _

_The smell of damp earth and new flowers hit his nose as the breeze picked up again, and Harry brought down his arms as he realized he was now dressed in his usual Gryffindor school robes. It was a beautiful area, yes, and felt familiar to him as his spot at the Hogwarts Lake. _

_But he had never seen this place before. _

_"What is this place?" He asked airily as he crouched down to brush his fingertips against the green grass and the dampness that was already gathering dew on the leaves and weeds around him. Standing up again, Harry turned in a full circle to make sure that he was still the only one there in his mind, seeing that the beauty of the scenery surrounded him from all sides. There was the sound of a distant rushing river now, and the small noises that certain insects out in the forests made. _

_The air had a crisp feel to it, a cold sharpness that made him feel more alert than he had the entire time he was dreaming. _

_"Don't you know?" _

_Of course not. He had never been somewhere so… _natural_ before, someplace so completely untouched by signs of humanity and their ideas of technological progression. Even Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest had signs of being touched by the people who lived around- faded footsteps and smoke in the sky from Hagrid's hut, some patches of plants gone missing because it had been gathered for a certain potion or otherwise. _

_"Who are you?" He asked again, much more calmly this time. The scenery had helped calm his nerves, and the crisp allowed made him feel more coherent. _

_"You know who I am." _

_There was a prickle of irritation as Harry gritted his teeth, and took a few steps forward, and then turned around to lean his back against one of the trees present. It was easily to feel more secure knowing that at least no one could sneak up from behind him this way, or at least that he would be able to hear them if they tried to sneak up from behind him. _

_"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking." He snapped, not knowing why he was so irritated with that voice beside the fact that it sounded much too calm in face of his questions. He pressed himself harder against the trunk of the large tree that shaded him, feeling the rough bark through the thickness of his robes. "You can at least show your face!" _

_"I can't. You don't want to see me." _

_"You shouldn't assume things, you know. This is _my_ dream." _

_There was a short hesitation. "Do you really think that you're dreaming?" _

_Of course he was dreaming. He had certainly never seen a place like this in his life, and didn't know how he ended up there- especially where the blackness had come from. The only explanation was that he was dreaming this. And if he was dreaming and aware of it, he wasn't going to give his control to some unknown variable hiding in his subconscious. _

_Deciding to ignore the obvious answer to that, Harry demanded, "Show yourself!" _

_"I'm up here." _

_Harry startled and craned his neck up where the voice had come from in the tree above him, up in the thick branches mostly hidden by the downfall of leaves. There was a silhouette sitting there, its face and body mostly covered in the shadow of the said leaves, one hand pushing against the base trunk to hold its position there. _

_Harry squinted as he looked up, and suddenly wished desperately for his glasses despite the fact that he didn't seem to need them anymore. It didn't help that the person was sitting against the still bright sunlight. _

_He pulled back a few steps so that he wouldn't have to crane his neck so, and also to get some distance between himself and the figure that had suddenly shown up, covering his eyes from the sun with one hand. _

_"Who are you?" He asked again suspiciously. _

_"Who could appear in your dreams so casually?" the figure responded mockingly, then shifted so that it wasn't completely in shadow anymore. Harry's eyes narrowed as he saw someone who looked remarkably like himself, but not quite. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at all at the similarity between the figure and him. _

_"You're right in that we're the same person… and not." The figured continued to say, green eyes eerie in the way it was watching Harry. Had his eyes been that frightening? "I am the part of you that was so quick to respond to anger when you thought that Sirius had killed your parents. I am the part of you that could not kill Lestrange. I am the part of you that couldn't believe how Dumbledore had been keeping secrets, and was furious. I am the part of you that went down into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny." _

_That made absolutely no sense at all to Harry. "What are you talking about?" _

_The almost-doppelganger tilted his head and leaned against the trunk of the tree comfortably, and Harry realized that the person was wearing a Hogwarts uniform as well. _

_"You keep trying to delude yourself about being a normal teenager, Harry." The person responded, voice barely heard over the wind as the storm clouds were gathering, the sky's pale blue darkening to that of a dusty grey. "Yet at the same time you think that you are not normal- that you are a hero and must live up to a hero's status. That's what always gets you into trouble. You have a hero-complex about saving people, and tell yourself that you are nothing but an ordinary teen." _

_Harry opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off before he could begin. _

_"Heroes don't live very long, Harry. That's why ordinary people don't always do heroic deeds. They have their own lives to worry about- and for the average person, that's all the worry they can handle." The almost-doppelganger held out a hand, palm up. "But you have two prophecies concerning you, Harry, and you can't die on those prophecies even if you want to play hero. That's where I come in." _

_Harry thought about those words, then asked carefully, "Are you Emerald, then?" _

_It would make sense, Harry thought, since he was supposed to be the reincarnation of Emerald. It would make sense that Emerald was the reason Harry had survived so long against such odds. _

_"No. I'm not." The figure closed his hand into a fist, as if grabbing onto something tightly, afraid of letting go. "You should know that. I'm you. _

_"I am the part of you that is meticulous. I make the plans while you charge blindly ahead. I make sure you don't get yourself in a situation where the consequences will be too much to handle. I get scared just as you do, and I have the same temper as you. I am the same person as you, but I am the one whom almost got you sorted into Slytherin." _

_Well, Harry thought to himself calmly (too calm, almost), he had once heard that everyone had an evil twin. He should feel honored that he got to talk to said twin. _

_"I'm not evil, you know." The Slytherin side of him said, sounding very annoyed as he glared down at Harry. "I told you- I'm you. I am what keep you alive." _

_"Excuse me if I don't quite believe that." Harry retorted, crossing his arms before him and glaring up at the almost-doppelganger sitting in the tree. The sky was darkening at an alarming rate, and the distant rolls of thunder could be heard over the mountains. It would be mere minutes before rain. _

_"You don't have to believe it." The figure said irritably. "But I've been keeping you alive, and I brought you here because there's something you need to figure out." _

_"And what the hell do I need to figure out?" Harry asked. He really didn't want to believe this was his alter-self… especially since said self was annoying and talked in riddles as much as Dumbledore. _

_"Why you can't access the throne, of course."_

_

* * *

_

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck-"

"Ron, shut up." Hermione hissed.

"We're all going to die." Ron mourned, shoulders slumped as he plopped down onto the grimy ground. "There were so many things I still wanted to do with my life…"

Hermione sighed as Ron continued to mutter to himself, this time having the decency to at least bury his face in his arms so that she couldn't hear him properly. Some of his life goals? She really hadn't wanted to know.

Grasping the bars of their small cell tightly between her hands, Hermione tried to push and pull at them, hoping fruitlessly that perhaps for some strange reason, she would be able to contort the metal bars enough that they could maybe escape.

It had seriously frightened her to see that they only had one cell left to put all four of them in, although she would never admit that aloud to Ron while he was in this state. It was bad enough that he was bemoaning their imminent demise, she didn't want to add the fact that anyone who could help them were also locked up as well.

Damn it. How had things gotten that bad?

Hermione gave up of the bars as the cold metal bit at her hands, and dropped her arms back down to her sides in frustration. The light in the cell was weak at best, barely letting in some filtered sunlight to illuminate the two unconscious figures of Harry and Draco lay out in the corner where Hermione had arranged them.

Growling, Hermione grasped the bars again, pushing at them as hard as she could despite knowing that it wouldn't do anything. She leaned as far as she could out the cell, knowing that her head wouldn't be able to fit between the bars, and tried to peer as far down the corridor as she could.

There was no one there, although she suspected that all the other cells she could see were full with unconscious Aurors and Elven fighters alike.

It wasn't fair, Hermione despaired childishly. They got to the throne first. Yet for some reason, when Harry had sat down on the throne, nothing had happened. She had panicked at first, thinking that her best friend might have been hurt, only for Draco to catch Harry, reassuring her and Ron that he was merely unconscious.

Of course, that wasn't good for them since the Death Eaters had been on the heels in the first place.

It was mere moments after Harry fell unconscious that the fighting outside came into the throne room, having gotten past the dragon easily enough (although, now that Hermione had time to think about it, there were quite a few burned robes and claw marks that were dripping blood) and storming the room.

Luckily, they had the element of surprise over the Death Eaters and had managed to stupefy quite a few of them before the Death Eaters started fighting back. DA had really paid off for them, Hermione thought for a moment with pride, even though she felt quite exasperated with how Ron had taken out a few Death Eaters with a dancing charm. (But at least he took them out, right?)

All that had changed with the arrival of Voldemort.

Hermione shuddered. She knew that being friends with Harry meant that she would have to be at the front lines of the war because she wasn't going to let him go off fighting alone. But so far, each year, Harry had always been the one to face Voldemort while both she and Ron had never even seen him before.

She leaned back into the cell, her hands still gripping the bars and feeling the years of grime and rust give way as her grip chafed the metal. The smell that came off the rust wafted to her nose and made her grimace.

She had never imagined the Dark Lord to physically look so much like a monster. Yes, she had known all his evil deeds and had heard recounts from Harry about how snake-like the Dark Lord was, including how physically twisted he might be. But she had never thought that anyone who looked so animal-like and twisted could even be alive, must less _human_.

But maybe he's not human, Hermione thought grimly. Maybe he's not human at all.

"We have to find a way to get out of here before he remembers about us again." Ron finally spoke up, cutting through Hermione's thoughts. She glanced back at him, at where he was perched against the back of the cell.

"We have to get Harry and Malfoy out, too. Before You-Know-Who comes back."

He sounded determined, and Hermione almost had the urge to snap at him to ask how he proposed to do that, but refrained herself from doing do because she didn't have any ideas either.

She didn't understand why they were still alive. She had expected to die when the Dark Lord walked into the room- expected for him to give the order to have them executed immediately so they couldn't interfere with his plans anymore. The snake-like wizard had eyed them with so much hate that those red eyes glowed.

But he had merely sneered at both her and Ron, turning those eyes to Draco who growled back in a predatory manner while clutching tightly onto Harry.

"So you're the one Lucius refuses to tell me about."

The voice was scarily charismatic, smooth and deep with a smug tone that made Hermione think of a great leader, a thought that she didn't want at all.

"He has said that you would not interfere with my goals, but now I see that he's wrong." Voldemort took a step forward, stretching out a clawed hand towards the vampire childe, his skin grayed and thin over blood vessels. "But your Father will not be punished by me if you hand over the boy."

That had been the wrong thing to say, Hermione thought now, pursing her lips as she stared back at Ron now in the cell, watched him try to come up with ideas for escape. Considering how scared she had been, Hermione was surprised that Draco could charge at the Dark Lord with such rage. He never even loosened his grip on Harry, clutching the dark-haired boy in his arms as he tried to attack the Dark Lord.

He had been grabbed before he could reach the Dark Lord, by at least 5 separate Death Eaters and cast with Stupefy, hitting the floor hard as Hermione grasped onto Ron's hand in the throne room.

"Hold them back." The smooth voice had commanded as he marched toward the throne, and Hermione found herself stupefied by another Death Eater, one that wasn't very strong as she continued to fight the curse for several long moments.

She had watched with blurry eyes after she collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath after hitting her head painfully on the unyielding stone floor. She watched as Voldemort had sat down on the throne, watched as light had emitted from the grey stones before her vision darkened and the last thing she remembered was hearing the smooth voice scream out in fury and denial.

The next thing she knew- she had woken from a jab from a Death Eater, whom had herded her and Ron along the still unconscious Harry and Draco down a long corridor towards their current cell.

"Our wands are gone." She informed Ron, watching as he rummaged around the cell.

"I know that." He looked up against the wall of their cell to the small window facing outside, where the dim lighting was shining through. Hermione frowned as she watched him. Surely he didn't think that anyone would be able to reach that high…? Or that anyone could even fit through a window that small?

"Shouldn't Harry and Malfoy be awake by now?"

Hermione glanced in the direction of the two still unconscious on the ground, and shook her head. "The spell that Draco got hit with was very strong… and Harry… well, we don't even know why he passed out in the first place."

That was what worried her the most besides their imminent fates from Voldemort, she didn't want to admit. From what she could gather from the information that she had been given with the last day, everything was supposed to be over once Harry got to the faerie throne. Voldemort was not supposed to even get there at all. Harry had been the first one there!

"If you figure a way out through that window," she grumbled to Ron, who was still staring up at the small exit. She leaned against the bars of the cell tiredly, "then let me know."

* * *

_"What does that mean?" _

_Harry was seated under the canopy of the tall tree, with his almost-doppelganger sitting opposite. A light rain had started to fall in the dreamscape, and Harry was tempted to turn up the hood for his school robes. But there under the tree, the surrounding grass was still quite dry. _

_"It might mean that we've been lucky so far." His Slytherin counterpart responded, brows drawn together in thought. "If you weren't able to access the faerie heritage through the throne, then it means that it doesn't respond to your blood. That means that Voldemort won't be able to access it, either." _

_That wasn't much consolation, Harry thought darkly. If he had been able to access the throne, then Voldemort wouldn't even _be_ in the equation now. _

_Another thought occurred to Harry. _

_"But does that mean that I might not be Emerald?" he asked his counterpart curiously. "That everyone was wrong after all, and I'm not anyone special at all…" _

_"You're an idiot." His counterpart said sharply. "If you weren't the one the prophecies talked of, then neither of us would be here right now- we'd both be dead." _

_"That doesn't help, you know." Harry retorted dryly. _

_"You're not helping with your self-doubts!" The other hissed, sounding peeved. "Maybe that's why you can't access the throne. It's because you honestly don't think you can, so you refuse the power that it offers. If that's the case, then we're all screwed because Voldemort sure as hell doesn't have problems like you do." _

_"That's ridiculous." _

_"Or maybe," his alter self continued, voice running over his own. "Maybe you don't want to be Emerald, don't want the responsibilities that being a faerie prince would bring. Maybe you don't want to share Draco with the memory of who you used to be." _

_Those eerie green eyes stared at Harry, and then he said, "That's it, isn't it? You don't want anything more to do with Emerald than what you already have in common." _

_"That's not it." Harry denied. _

_"It is. You really don't recognize this place, huh?" _

_Harry fumed for a moment. "It's a dreamscape, isn't it? It's just somewhere that my mind finds peaceful- maybe this is the place I'd come to within me if anyone ever tried hypnosis on me or something. I'm within my own mind! That's why I'm talking with you!" _

_His Slytherin counterpart was only quiet for the moment it took to gather up enough words to form cohesive ideas. "But there really is no 'me' or 'you'. I only used those words so you would have an easier time understanding your situation right now. You're not in just any dreamscape, Harry. Look around you. Doesn't it look familiar?" _

_Harry closed his eyes and tightened his jaw, determined that he wouldn't look. Besides, he already knew what his surroundings looked like. _

_"You grew up here, Harry." _

_"I grew up on Privet Drive!" _

_"You grew up… _here_." _

_And when Harry opened his eyes again, he wasn't facing his almost-doppelganger, wasn't sitting under a tree in the light rain, wasn't inside the same forest anymore. He was now staring at bright, thin spires leading into the sky, and a delicate and almost glass-like material covering those spires and the area around it. There were no vines here, nor was the sky dark and filled with the smoke of oncoming war. Instead, the rain had let up to patches of sunlight shining through the clouds and illuminating the mystical caste before him in a way that was almost blinding. _

_It was the same faerie castle, looking perhaps a hundred years younger._

_

* * *

_

continued in chapter 13

**Authoress' Rambles**: It really has been a long time, hasn't it? Hello again, everyone. It's been nearly a year since I updated my stories- a year filled with college admissions, moving to another country, an original story, another fandom, and starting university. I've been to three countries in the past six months, laughs. Almost four- but my grandparents didn't want me to go to Japan with my mom.

Other than that useless information, I'd like to thank everyone who didn't give up on this story and continued to bug me about finishing it. Special dedication to **Yana5** for the continuous emails. Everyone can thank her as the reason this chapter is finished now. ; Two more chapters and an epilogue left!


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